Campbellian

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Relating to or reminiscent of American mythologist Joseph Campbell or his ideas, particularly the Hero's Journey.
  2. 2
    Of or relating to the ministers Thomas Campbell and Alexander Campbell, or the associated Campbellite movement.
  3. 3
    In the fictive style promoted by American writer and editor John W. Campbell, wherein humanity triumphs over alien intelligences through innate superiority, often with superhuman abilities such as telekinesis, ESP, etc.

    "In fact, among some readers the term "Campbellian science fiction" is virtually synonymous with "Golden Age", so manifestly more rigorous were the authors Campbell developed than the majority of pulp writers before them."

Example

More examples

"In fact, among some readers the term "Campbellian science fiction" is virtually synonymous with "Golden Age", so manifestly more rigorous were the authors Campbell developed than the majority of pulp writers before them."

Etymology

From Campbell + -ian.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.