Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
science fiction en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈsaɪəns ˌfɪkʃən/
Etymology
From science + fiction. First use appears c. 1851. See cite below.
Meanings
-
Of or pertaining to this genre.
Forms
science fiction en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈsaɪəns ˌfɪkʃən/
Etymology
From science + fiction. First use appears c. 1851. See cite below.
Meanings
-
(uncountable, usually) Fiction in which advanced technology or science is a key element.
Now this applies especially to Science-Fiction, in which the revealed truths of Science may be given, interwoven with a pleasing story which may itself be poetical and true—thus circulating a knowledge of the Poetry of Science, clothed in a garb of the Poetry of Life.
1851, William Wilson, A Little Earnest Book Upon a Great Old Subject:Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology.
1975 April 14, Isaac Asimov, “How Easy to See the Future!”, in Natural History, volume 84, number 4, New York: American Museum of Natural History, →ISSN, page 92, column 2:When “Her” premiered in 2013, it fell firmly in the camp of science fiction. Today, the film, set prophetically in 2025, feels more like a documentary.
2025 November 17, Lauren Kunze, “The Sad and Dangerous Reality Behind ‘Her’”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
-
(broadly, uncountable, usually) Technology that, while theoretically possible, is not yet practical.
Despite decades of research, mass-market personal aircraft are still science fiction.
Forms
Antonyms
science fact
Coordinates
fantasy · horror
Deriveds
science faction · military science fiction · science-fictiony · science-fictionish · science fact · soft science fiction · hard science fiction · science fantasy
Hypernyms
speculative fiction · speculative fiction · imaginative fiction · SF/F/H · non-mimetic fiction
Hyponyms
stfantasy · feghoot · proto-science fiction · soft science fiction · steampunk · transrealism · hard science fiction · dieselpunk · edisonade · biopunk · space opera · cyberpunk
Relateds
fan of science fiction
Synonyms
scientific romance · sci-fi · SF · scientifiction · skiffy · stf · sci-fi · science fiction · skiffy · scientifiction · scientific romance · SF · stf
Translations (86)
ms fiksyen sains (fiction genre) · sl znanstvena fantastika (technology which is not yet practical) · mi pohewa pūtaiao (fiction genre) · ga fantaisíocht (technology which is not yet practical) · he מַדָּע בִּדְיוֹנִי (fiction genre) · sv science fiction (fiction genre) · th ไซไฟ (fiction genre) · ja サイエンスフィクション (fiction genre) · ky илимий фантастика (fiction genre) · be навуко́вая фанта́стыка (fiction genre) · ru фанта́стика (fiction genre) · fi tieteiskirjallisuus (technology which is not yet practical) · ja SF (esuefu) (fiction genre) · de Zukunftsmusik (technology which is not yet practical) · pt ficção científica (fiction genre) · ca ciència-ficció (fiction genre) · lt mókslinė fantãstika (fiction genre) · cmn 科幻 (technology which is not yet practical) · tg илмӣ-тахайюлӣ (fiction genre) · ro știință-ficțiune (fiction genre) · mi paki pohewa pūtaiao (fiction genre) · kk ғылыми фантастика (fiction genre) · nl sciencefiction (technology which is not yet practical) · sk science fiction (fiction genre) · fi tieteiskirjallisuus (fiction genre) · is framtíðarmúsík (technology which is not yet practical) · hu tudományos fantasztikum (fiction genre) · fi tieteisfiktio (fiction genre) · cmn 科幻 (fiction genre) · ko 공상과학 소설 (fiction genre) · mn ᠰᠢᠨᠵᠢᠯᠡᠬᠦ ᠤᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ ᠤᠷᠠᠨ ᠵᠥᠩᠨᠡᠯ (fiction genre) · ja 空想科学小説 (fiction genre) · tr bilim kurgu (fiction genre) · gl ciencia ficción (fiction genre) · pt ficção científica (technology which is not yet practical) · tl kathang-agham (fiction genre) · vi khoa học viễn tưởng (fiction genre) · ru нау́чная фанта́стика (fiction genre) · mn ᠰᠢᠨᠵᠢᠯᠡᠬᠦ ᠤᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ ᠦ ᠬᠡᠢ ᠪᠣᠳᠤᠯ (fiction genre) · pl fantastyka naukowa (fiction genre) · hu tudományos-fantasztikus irodalom/műfaj (fiction genre) · fr science-fiction (fiction genre) · ka სამეცნიერო ფანტასტიკა (fiction genre) · ko 사이언스 픽션 (fiction genre) · yi פֿאַקטאַזיע (fiction genre) · tr bilim kurgu (technology which is not yet practical) · fa علمی تخیلی (fiction genre) · nl sciencefiction (fiction genre) · de Science-Fiction (fiction genre) · oc sciéncia-ficcion (fiction genre) · th นิยายวิทยาศาสตร์ (fiction genre) · uk фанта́стика (fiction genre) · fr science-fiction (technology which is not yet practical) · nl toekomstmuziek (technology which is not yet practical) · be фанта́стыка (fiction genre) · mn шинжлэх ухаан уран зөгнөл (fiction genre) · bg нау́чна фанта́стика (fiction genre) · ko 과학소설 (fiction genre) · af wetenskapfiksie (fiction genre) · el επιστημονική φαντασία (fiction genre) · cs science fiction (fiction genre) · az elmi fantastika (fiction genre) · cmn 科學幻想 /科学幻想 (fiction genre) · vi khoa học giả tưởng (fiction genre) · th บันเทิงคดีแนววิทยาศาสตร์ (fiction genre) · mk научна фантастика (fiction genre) · de Science-Fiction (technology which is not yet practical) · ar خَيَال عِلْمِيّ (fiction genre) · uk науко́ва фанта́стика (fiction genre) · it fantascienza (fiction genre) · uz ilmiy fantastika (fiction genre) · gd ficsean saidheans (fiction genre) · cmn 科學幻想 /科学幻想 (technology which is not yet practical) · es ciencia ficción (fiction genre) · cmn 科學虛構 /科学虚构 (fiction genre) · ru фанта́стика (technology which is not yet practical) · sw sayansi ya kubuniwa (fiction genre) · is vísindaskáldskapur (fiction genre) · hu sci-fi (fiction genre) · la scientia ficticia (fiction genre) · ga ficsean eolaíochta (fiction genre) · id fiksi ilmiah (fiction genre) · sl znanstvena fantastika (fiction genre) · mn шинжлэх ухааны хий бодол (fiction genre) · ro science-fiction (fiction genre) · sk vedecká fantastika (fiction genre)