speculative fiction
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of speculative fiction
Coined in 1947 by Robert A. Heinlein ( def. ) in his essay On the Writing of Speculative Fiction, in which he differentiates between science fiction stories that focus on fictional technologies and stories that focus on the societal impact of such technologies
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.
Kathryn Budig, head of the speculative fiction imprint the Inky Phoenix, started her online book club of the same name in 2020.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
For years, the simulation hypothesis was regarded as untestable, confined to the realms of philosophy and speculative fiction.
From Science Daily • Nov. 10, 2025
Many speculative fiction writers say some version of this whenever people point out disturbing similarities in their shows and movies to current events.
From Salon • May 7, 2025
“What’s the function of a galaxy?” the speculative fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin once asked.
From Slate • Feb. 7, 2025
The work hardly lends itself to critical remark other than the expression of one's appreciation of an imaginative and glowing style likely to add to the pleasure of those who enjoy purely speculative fiction.
From The Great War in England in 1897 by Le Queux, William
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.
