Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| unobtainium n. (1956) | a hypothetical substance that would be highly desirable but is unrealized or unobtainable; a notional substance with exceptional or ideal properties |
| unperson n. (1949) | a person who, usually for political reasons, is deemed not to have existed and whose name is removed from all public records; hence, more generally: a person whose contributions or achievements are officially denied or disregarded; a person regarded as less than human |
| unsuit v. (1957) | to remove a spacesuit |
| unsuited adv. (1957) | without wearing a spacesuit |
| uplift n. (1980) | the making of a sentient species from a non-sentient one, esp. by genetic engineering |
| uplift v. (1980) | to transform a non-sentient species into a sentient species, esp. by genetic engineering |
| uplifter n. (2006) | a genetic engineer who carries out uplift n. |
| uplifting n. (1980) | = uplift n. |
| uptime adj. (1972) | esp. in time-travel contexts: in or from the future; cf. downtime adj. |
| uptime adv. (1972) | esp. in time-travel contexts: in, into, or toward the future; cf. downtime adv. |
| Uranian n. (1834) | a native or inhabitant of Uranus; (also) the language of Uranians |
| Uranian adj. (1839) | of or relating to the planet Uranus or its inhabitants |
| urban fantasy n. (1978) | a genre of fantasy that uses a (modern) city as its primary setting; a work in this genre |
| utopia n. (No cites) | a place, state, or condition ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws, customs, and conditions |
| utopian n. (No cites) | one who conceives, proposes, or introduces schemes supposed or intended to bring about improved or perfect social and political conditions, etc.; an advocate of social reform |
| utopian adj. (1981) | possessing or regarded as having impossibly or extravagantly ideal conditions in respect of politics, customs, social organization, etc. |
| vac-suit n. (1938) | = vacuum suit n. |
| vac-suited adj. (1939) | = vacuum-suited adj. |
| vacuum suit n. (1926) | = space suit n. |
| vacuum-suited adj. (1937) | wearing a vacuum suit n. |
| vape v. (1976) | to vaporize by means of a weapon; to destroy completely, to annihilate |
| Vegan n. 1 (1930) | a native or inhabitant of the solar system of the star Vega |
| Vegan n. 2 (1942) | the language of Vegans |
| Vegan adj. (1930) | of or pertaining to the star Vega, or the natives or inhabitants of its solar system |
| Venerian n. 1 (1919) | a native or inhabitant of Venus; = Venusian n. 1 |
| Venerian n. 2 (1948) | the language of Venerians |
| Venerian adj. (1919) | pertaining to Venus or Venusians; = Venustian adj. |
| Venusian n. 1 (1874) | a native or inhabitant of the planet Venus |
| Venusian n. 2 (1931) | the language of Venusians |
| Venusian adj. (1872) | of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the planet Venus or its inhabitants |
| Vernean adj. (1883) | of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the science fiction of Jules Verne |
| verse n. (2002) | the universe; (also) one of many universes in a multiverse; cf. earlier -verse suffix |
| -verse suffix (1985) | (used to form nouns denoting the fictional universe used as the setting of a series (or occasionally a work), typically in combination with the title, main character, or creator of the series); (also) any media, fandom, etc. connected to a series; cf. slightly earlier Whoniverse n. |
| vessel n. (1900) | a spacecraft |