Usually, 'Orwellian' specifically refers to things that invoke the
society that
Orwell described in the book
1984. That society was characterized by constant
surveillance of its citizens, and omni-present
media controlling their minds with
propaganda,
torture of dissidents, and especially '
newspeak,' a pattern of
speech that minced
words so that every statement served the powers that be in a way that would be obvious to everyone but the brainwashed inhabitants of the society in question.
As far as the omni-present media and newspeak go, our current system of neoliberal global corporate capitalism is looking increasingly Orwellian. Some examples of currently employed newspeak are "Harmonization" to refer to the scuttling of workplace safety and environmental regulations, and "Fulfillment Centers" to refer the offices of temp-work contractors.