Meaning of worldbuilding | Babel Free

Definitions

1. The conception and description of a fictional world, often as the setting of a work of fiction, particularly in speculative fiction.
   uncountable
2. Scientific research into the creation of the Earth and its geological features.
   obsolete, uncountable
3. The world of imagination of novelists, poets, etc.
   obsolete, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“The purpose of worldbuilding isn't just to do a cool exercise, but to give⟳ a sense⟳ of place⟳ — and all of your thought experiments absolutely have⟳ to result⟳ in something vivid and alive.”

“High fantasy of the George RR Martin kind hinges on world-building. When there really is a whole world to build⟳, and not just a historical period or a particular country, world-building does not take⟳ a few paragraphs in a short story; it takes chapters.”

“A sequel of this magnitude has the ability to reach⟳ higher, though, with more creative worldbuilding balancing out the dime-a-dozen pop culture references and cheap gags.”

CEFR level