How to Use space opera in a Sentence

space opera

noun
Definition of space operanext
  • And the show still stands as one of the finest space operas on TV (sorry, Star Trek).
    — Matt Miller, Esquire, 17 June 2016
  • At the forefront of that charge in the 1970s was George Lucas, in the midst of producing a risky sci-fi space opera called Star.
    — Jordan Kushins, Popular Mechanics, 24 Feb. 2016
  • How, then, to take the space opera genre and the comic book format to make new ideas become real?
    — Christian Holub, EW.com, 21 Nov. 2019
  • Fans can really grasp the space opera through the eyes of the beloved protagonist.
    — Mythili Devarakonda, USA TODAY, 9 Aug. 2022
  • The film is a space opera that follows a young woman living in a peaceful colony on the outskirts of the galaxy.
    — Zack Sharf, Variety, 28 Aug. 2023
  • In 1980, Hodges directed the glitzy space opera Flash Gordon.
    — Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 21 Dec. 2022
  • The trailer plays up the space opera/spaghetti Western crossover vibe.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 24 Aug. 2019
  • Third, an African American sci-fi pulp writer composes a space opera about the end of the world set in 2333.
    — Amy Brady, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023
  • Take a genre such as the police procedural, the space opera, or the vampire romance.
    — Adam Wilson, Harper's magazine, 16 Sep. 2019
  • Dune is a visual feast and a space opera tour de force that should please fans of the novel despite some small changes and its missing final act.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2021
  • In that regard, this is a very different situation to that of a space opera.
    — Ollie Barder, Forbes, 26 Jan. 2022
  • The eighth and latest chapter in the long-running space opera dives into those mysteries from The Force Awakens, too.
    — Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 12 Dec. 2017
  • Now, Snyder is adding to his canon of large-scale sci-fi with Rebel Moon, a galaxy-spanning space opera about a band of misfit outlaws.
    — Hemal Jhaveri, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2023
  • Still, the novel stands well as a sort of thematic coda to the Radch trilogy, and should please those who like tea with their space opera.
    — N.k. Jemisin, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2017
  • The novel has a space opera vibe, as a foul-mouthed captain helms a spaceship that bumps from adventure to adventure.
    — Washington Post, 23 July 2022
  • This is a big, weird space opera that came out of the 1960s: the San Francisco counterculture movement, the Space Race, the heydey of psychedelic drugs.
    — Alex Kane, USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2021
  • It’s got the characters of a noir film, Jackie Chan action sequences, music out of a New York jazz club, and the superstructure of a space opera.
    — Cecilia D'anastasio, Wired, 19 Nov. 2021
  • Star Wars created a culture and a phenomenon that helped pave the way for space opera science fiction in years to come.
    — Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli, Houston Chronicle, 4 May 2018
  • From westerns to space operas, weapons are part of popular culture.
    — Jerry Large, The Seattle Times, 25 Jan. 2018
  • Dreadstar Returns is a glorious, goofy space opera – a B-movie experience in the best sense.
    — Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 11 June 2021
  • Now, head to the theater and immerse yourself in Dennis Villeneuve’s space opera masterpiece.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2021
  • And where the blend of space opera and Reconstruction South tropes was mostly seamless on Firefly, the world-building is spottier here.
    — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2021
  • Now the universe George Lucas created could spin out in new and interesting ways that wouldn’t have to hew to the space opera conventions of the main Star Wars series.
    — Alissa Wilkinson, Vox, 24 May 2018
  • Instead, the events with The Resistance take on more of a ticking-clock space opera more similar to the 2004 Battlestar Galactica series.
    — Matt Miller, Esquire, 12 Dec. 2017
  • The first of the trilogy burst upon the pop culture scene like fireworks—a rollicking space opera cowboy film with an epic battle between good and evil.
    — Allison Keyes, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2023
  • What really counts, though, is the space opera’s profitability.
    — Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
  • This multiverse serves to expand the scope and the stakes of a space opera; Moorcock later used the concept as a metaphysical device and a way to unify his novels.
    — Stephanie Burt, The New Yorker, 31 Oct. 2022
  • The critics were harsh — and legions of fans reared on the original space opera were especially despondent.
    — Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 20 May 2022
  • So declares one of the three protagonists of Ann Leckie's latest brain-bending, genre-crossing space opera.
    — Amy Brady, Scientific American, 20 June 2023
  • And Williams’ music, with its sumptuous and stirring signatures, gave the space opera a transcendent power.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'space opera.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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