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Synonyms

sci-fi

American  
[sahy-fahy] / ˈsaɪˌfaɪ /
Also scifi,

adjective

  1. of or relating to science fiction.

    a writer of sci-fi books.

noun

  1. science fiction.

sci-fi British  
/ ˈsaɪˌfaɪ /

noun

  1. short for science fiction

"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

Etymology

Origin of sci-fi

First recorded in 1950–55; by shortening

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.

But the director also wanted “Silent Night’s grounded action to avoid looking cartoonish. “I intended to make it look different from those big movies nowadays, the sci fi, Marvel-like movies,” Woo says.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 30, 2023

Soon, book after book began to appear as Bear leaned on his military background to reinvent and reinvigorate sci fi.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 19, 2021

It’s self-serious, Star Trek-style sci fi for people who wear expensive suits and maybe have an endowed lab at Harvard.

From Slate • Oct. 18, 2019

We are moving towards a sci fi style society where our information and choices we make can be influenced by these vested interest conglomerates.

From New York Times • Oct. 23, 2016

I love sci fi, Daniel X, anything by James Patterson, anything that lets me escape.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.