alternative history

[ awl-tur-nuh-tiv his-tuh-ree, his-tree, al-tur- ]

noun
  1. history that is based on an unconventional or nontraditional interpretation of an event or events: Charting a hitherto untold story with historical and contemporary implications, these essays present a compelling alternative history of theatrical practice in the UK.

  2. alternate history: She writes alternative history that is detailed and hard to resist.The book is a supernatural alternative history.

Origin of alternative history

1
First recorded in 1900–05

Words Nearby alternative history

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for alternative history

alternative history

noun
  1. a genre of fiction in which the author speculates on how the course of history might have been altered if a particular historical event had had a different outcome

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012