sciencefictional

Sciencefictional is an adjective used to describe things pertaining to or resembling science fiction. It characterizes elements, settings, or narrative approaches that are typical of science-fiction literature and media, including speculative technology, space travel, future or alternate-world environments, and sociotechnical speculation. The term appears mainly in critical writing, fan discourse, and some reference works, and is not consistently standardized in dictionaries. Hyphenated forms such as science-fictional are also encountered.

As a descriptor, sciencefictional can apply to objects, scenes, or entire works that consciously imitate or extrapolate from science-fiction tropes. Its connotations depend on context, ranging from appreciation of imaginative world-building to critique of clichés. The term can signal deliberate genre familiarity or a mood of speculative wonder, without asserting factual science.

In practice, sciencefictional elements arise across subgenres such as cyberpunk, space opera, and hard science fiction, as well as in speculative fiction that blends science with other modes like fantasy or satire. It is often used to discuss how authors and creators construct plausible futures, alternate technologies, or social implications through imaginative scenario-building. The concept supports analysis of world-building, tone, and the interplay between science and storytelling.

See also: science fiction, speculative fiction, tropes, world-building.