Doubleplusungood is a Newspeak word from 1984 which means “really really bad.”

Breakdown:

ungood = bad

In Newspeak, all negative words, such as “bad,” are removed from the dictionary. One must instead use the word “ungood” in place of “bad.” This way, Newspeak speakers can never actually say something is “bad.”

Double plus = really really

All variations or synonyms of simple words are removed. Doing so simplifies the vocabulary of a speaker and, therefore, simplifies their thoughts. Simplifying human thought is the ultimate goal of the Newspeak language.

If a Newspeak speaker wanted to say something is “really good,” they’d say it was “plusgood” instead of “superb” or “excellent.” To say something is “really really good,” they’d say it was “doubleplusgood” instead of “spectacular” or “extraordinary.”

In the case of “doubleplusungood,” synonyms in Oldspeak (i.e., English) may have included “heinous” or “tragic.”

Additional info (from Perplexity AI):

Newspeak is the fictional language of Oceania, the totalitarian superstate in Orwell’s novel 1984. It was designed to replace Oldspeak (standard English) with the following key characteristics and purposes:

  1. Simplification: Newspeak reduces the English language to a limited vocabulary and simplified grammar to restrict the range of ideas that can be expressed.
  2. Thought control: Its primary purpose is to limit free thought and make it impossible to express ideas that contradict the Party’s ideology.
  3. Quick speech: It’s designed to be spoken rapidly, discouraging thoughtful consideration.
  4. Euphemisms and contradictions: Newspeak uses pleasant-sounding words and contradictory terms to obscure meaning.
  5. Restricted vocabulary: Words that could be used to criticize the Party are removed.
  6. Affixes and contractions: It heavily uses prefixes, suffixes, and abbreviated forms.

The ultimate goal of Newspeak is to create a subservient population that accepts the Party’s ideology without question, demonstrating Orwell’s concern about language being used as a tool for political control and manipulation of thought.