science fiction

noun

: fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals or having a scientific factor as an essential orienting component

science-fictional

ˈsī-ən(t)s-ˈfik-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

Examples of science fiction in a Sentence

Time travel exists only in the realm of science fiction.

Recent Examples on the Web

Like so many humanoids, Apollo exemplifies the uncanny, hyperreal nature of modern robotics, simultaneously an image from science fiction and a real, tangible machine. —James Vincent, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025

One of the medium’s great auteurs has created something wholly original and impressively unpredictable, with the mass gradually revealing vulnerabilities that feel truly unique in science fiction. —Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2025

The plot of Rental Family, directed by Hikari and starring Brendan Fraser, reads almost like science fiction. —Barry Levitt, Time, 21 Nov. 2025

Robotics engineering Robots are no longer only a science fiction concept. —Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 19 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for science fiction

• antifriction
• benediction
• contradiction
• crucifixion
• dereliction
• interdiction
• jurisdiction
• malediction
• addiction
• affliction
• constriction
• conviction

Kids Definition

science fiction

noun

: fiction that deals with the influence of real or imagined science on society or individuals

science-fictional

ˈsī-ən(t)s-ˈfik-shnəl, 

-shən-ᵊl

adjective