metafiction
[ met-uh-fik-shuhn ]
/ ˈmɛt əˌfɪk ʃən /
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noun
fiction that discusses, describes, or analyzes a work of fiction or the conventions of fiction.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON PARENTHESES AND BRACKETS APLENTY!
Set some time apart to test your bracket symbol knowledge, and see if you can keep your parentheses, squares, curlies, and angles all straight!
Question 1 of 7
Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?
First appeared around 1750, and is related to the French word “braguette” for the name of codpiece armor.
First appeared in 1610, based on the French word “baguette” for the long loaf of bread.
First appeared in 1555, and is related to the French word “raquette” for a netted bat.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT Origin of metafiction
First recorded in 1975–80
Words nearby metafiction
metacryst, metadata, meta-dichlorobenzene, metaethics, metafemale, metafiction, metagalaxy, metage, metagenesis, metagnathous, Metagonimus
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for metafiction
As a TV tie-in and a Little Golden Book, it didn’t necessarily get the attention it deserves, according to Philip Nel, an English professor at Kansas State University who studies metafiction and postmodernism in children’s literature.
50 years later, ‘The Monster at the End of This Book’ is still selling — and inspiring authors|Danny Freedman|January 27, 2021|Washington PostThe novel might be a metafiction in the style of John Barth, who has also in his eighties been influenced by cognitive science.