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-shnəl

-shə-nᵊl

adjective

Examples of science fiction in a Sentence

Time travel exists only in the realm of science fiction.

Recent Examples on the Web Michael Kanyon and Think Brink Beauty styled her hair. Sipos, who stars in Outer Range, the science fiction neo-Western drama series on Amazon Prime with Josh Brolin, and his groomsmen were dressed by Matt of Savage Suiting. —

Emily Strohm, Peoplemag, 25 Sep. 2023 All of our Technocrats immersed themselves in science fiction reading during their somewhat awkward childhoods. —

Jonathan Taplin, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2023 Not so long ago, this was the stuff of science fiction. —

WIRED, 21 Sep. 2023 Its premise may seem mundane as a hunt for magical space rocks, the same MacGuffin plot device that drives most popular science fiction and fantasy today, from Marvel to Zelda. —

Gene Park, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2023 The first Madame President appeared on screen in 1953, in the science fiction film Project Moon Base, wherein Ernestine Barrier portrays the president. —

Town & Country, 26 Aug. 2023 The library’s futuristic 3D printing Octavia Lab, named for science fiction writer Octavia Butler, made protective face shields for hospitals in the early days of the pandemic. —

Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2023 The 32-year-old started attending lectures at the nonprofit in 2016 and became an artist-in-residence in 2021 — creating a solo art show and a monthly reading and discussion group that included books on post-colonial astrology and an anthology of Indigenous science fiction. —

Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2023 For solace, give him only science fiction novels, superhero comics and a cadre of younger siblings and cousins to boss around, imbuing him with delusions of grandeur and a taste for unchecked power. —

Will Oremus, Washington Post, 10 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'science fiction.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of science fiction was in 1898

See more words from the same year

Dictionary Entries Near science fiction

science fair

science fiction

science of language

See More Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

Style

“Science fiction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/science%20fiction. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.

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