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metafiction

American  
[met-uh-fik-shuhn] / ˈmɛt əˌfɪk ʃən /

noun

  1. fiction that discusses, describes, or analyzes a work of fiction or the conventions of fiction.


Etymology

Origin of metafiction

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

As metafiction goes, it could hardly be more poignant, though poignancy is not the author’s style.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 20, 2026

The traumas of “The New Earth” repeatedly prompt intrusions concerning long prose narratives themselves: bold forays into metafiction.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 27, 2023

I also enjoy all the metafiction in there.

From Salon Nov. 21, 2022

By and large, though, in these two books Mina has mastered the intricacies of metafiction, not to mention edge-of-your-seat storytelling.

From Los Angeles Times May 23, 2022

No doubt the internet is filled with musings on Calvino and the literary tradition of metafiction that he helped popularize.

From New York Times Apr. 15, 2022

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