neofan

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

A newcomer to science fiction; a fan who is extremely new and inexperienced with the genre; a beginner.

Register: dated, slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

COMING NEXT ISH: A department devoted to the BNF of tomorrow. 'Twill be the neofan of today who is the Tucker or Laney of tomorrow. So QUANDRY, the BNZ of tomorrow, will bring you biografies^([sic]) of lesser known fen.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “neofan” mean?

A newcomer to science fiction; a fan who is extremely new and inexperienced with the genre; a beginner.

Is “neofan” formal or informal?

neofan is generally dated, slang.