speculative fiction

[ spek-yuh-luh-tiv fik-shuhn, -leytiv ]

noun

1. a broad category of fiction encompassing any story that contains imaginative, futuristic, or supernatural elements. fantasy ( def 9 ), science fiction ( def ), alternate history ( def 1 ).

speculative fiction

noun

1. a broad literary genre encompassing any fiction with supernatural, fantastical, or futuristic elements

Word History and Origins

Origin of speculative fiction¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of speculative fiction¹

C20

Example Sentences

We're creating the other in our own little piece of speculative fiction.

From The Daily Beast