Standard Lemma guide

petrofiction

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

fiction that focuses on the oil industry as a major element.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Fiction that deals with modern culture's dependency on petrochemicals.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Pre-Greekder.? Ancient Greek πέτρᾱ (pétrā)bor. Latin petrader. English petro- Proto-Indo-European *dheyǵh- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Proto-Indo-European *dhinéǵhti Proto-Italic *θingō Proto-Italic *fingōder. Latin fingō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin fictiōder. Old French ficcionbor. Middle English ficcioun English fiction English petrofiction Originally coined as petro- + fiction by Amitav Ghosh in his review of Abdel Rahman Munif's quintet of novels Cities of Salt (published by New Republic in March 1992). The term was subsequently broadened by Imre Szeman in a 2012 article in American Book Review.