retro-futuristic adj.

having both retro and futuristic elements; of or resembling a style or aesthetic considered futuristic in an earlier era

SF Criticism

  • 1983 N.Y. Times 27 Oct. a23 (advt.)

    Silverized steel and sleek grey linked for a retro-futuristic look.

  • 1985 C. V. Drake Brazil in Cinefantastique Oct. 8/3 (review) page image

    Both films make extensive use of retro-futuristic devices such as TV, telephone, and even tubular message senders.

  • 1994 K. Rolston in Dragon Magazine (#212) Dec. 59/3 (review) page image

    The mysterious science-fiction plot, the script, the characters, the retro-futuristic design, the spooky atmosphere, and the paranoiac point-of-view protagonist all combine to produce the most satisfying multimedia experience I’ve ever had.

  • 2000 C. Harrison Afterburn 316 page image

    His taxi raced…past hundreds of enormous construction sites…. This Shanghai, new yet already retro[-]futuristic, forced itself brutally upward through the accumulated crust, erasing the narrow lanes of crumbling brick and pagoda roofs.

  • 2006 T. Littleton Thought Experiments in Asimov’s Science Fiction July 12/2 page image Therese Littleton

    Seattle…. We’ve got a retro-futuristic monorail, a Space Needle, and more computer geeks than we know what to do with.

  • 2015 E. Cline Armada 203 page image Ernest Cline bibliography

    Everything was sleek, ergonomic, and vaguely retro-futuristic in its design, which often appeared to favor form over function.

  • 2024 A. Webster Bringing Fallout’s Gritty Retrofuturism Into the Real World in The Verge 23 Apr. page image

    Cummings and his team used the word Fallout as a shorthand to describe the particular retrofuturistic, post-apocalyptic style the franchise is known for.


Research requirements

antedating 1983

Research History
The definition and first quotation are taken directly from the OED3 entry.

Last modified 2025-10-08 02:41:21
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.