The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word ORWELLIAN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
O
R
W
E
L
L
I
A
N
More clues leading to the result ORWELLIAN
- N African port guards fine one - evocative of repressive state?
- Poor sailor heading off with New Left description of 1984
- Gold — good and fashionable when worn by adult, 1984-style
- Completely surrounded by on-air broadcast, Nineteen Eighty-Four-style
- Area held by soldiers effectively home after 1984
- Area held by soldiers, effectively home after 1984
- Like Big Brother, nail lower masses
- Gold supply, one to cut in after 1984?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "evocative of repressive state?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case evocative of repressive state? = orwellian.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.