science fiction
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
Fiction in which advanced technology or science is a key element.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
syuhnsfikshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsaɪənsˈfɪkʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Fiction in which advanced technology or science is a key element.
by extension
Technology that, while theoretically possible, is not yet practical.
adjective
Of or pertaining to this genre.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Fiction in which advanced technology or science is a key element.
Used this way, science fiction is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in science contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Science
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “science fiction” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.