speculative fiction

American  

[spek-yuh-luh-tiv fik-shuhn, -leytiv] / ˈspɛk yə lə tɪv ˈfɪk ʃən, -ˌleɪtɪv /

noun

1. a broad category of fiction encompassing any story that contains imaginative, futuristic, or supernatural elements.

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speculative fiction British  

noun

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

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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

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

And such a lineal-descendant project couldn't have lasted through forty generations, speculative fiction to the contrary—the later generations would have been too far removed in ideology and intent from their ancestors.

From Control Group by Aycock, Roger D.