Meaning & use
speculative narrative
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Meanings
nouncountable
A story that imagines events beyond the real world, such as future technology, magic, or alien life.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a speculative narrative' or 'speculative narratives'.
Patterns
- a speculative narrative about something
- write a speculative narrative
Her latest novel is a speculative narrative about a society where memories can be bought and sold.
The course examines speculative narratives from the twentieth century, including science fiction and fantasy.
He prefers speculative narrative to realistic fiction because it lets him explore big ideas.
noununcountable
The style or method of telling stories that include imaginary or futuristic elements.
Grammar: Uncountable when referring to the general style: 'a master of speculative narrative'.
Patterns
- a master of speculative narrative
- the tradition of speculative narrative
The author is known for her innovative use of speculative narrative.
In this essay, I will discuss the role of speculative narrative in contemporary literature.
Word forms
| plural | speculative narratives |
|---|
Common combinations
- write a speculative narrative
- Students were asked to write a speculative narrative set in the year 3000.
- speculative narrative about
- The film is a speculative narrative about the first human colony on Mars.
- a work of speculative narrative
- Her new book is a work of speculative narrative that blends horror and science.
- speculative narrative tradition
- African writers have a rich speculative narrative tradition that predates Western sci-fi.
Synonyms and how they differ
- science fiction
- A more specific and common term that usually involves technology or science, while speculative narrative can also include fantasy and supernatural elements.
- fantasy
- Focuses on magic and imaginary worlds; speculative narrative is broader and includes science fiction and alternate history.
- speculative fiction
- Very close in meaning, but often used for the whole genre rather than a single story.
Opposites
Word family
- speculative adjective
- Based on guesswork rather than fact; also used to describe imaginative genres.
- speculation noun
- The act of guessing or forming ideas without firm evidence.
- narrative noun
- A story or account of events.
Commonly confused: speculative narrative or speculative fiction?
speculative narrative vs speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is the broader genre; a speculative narrative is one specific story within that genre.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'speculative narrative' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 1 is correct because it describes an imaginative story set in an unreal world. Option 0 is wrong because a documentary about real events is not speculative. Option 2 is wrong because 'speculative narrative' is a literary term, not a guess about finance. Option 3 is wrong because a news report is factual, not a speculative story.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “speculative narrative”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.