alternate history

[ awl-ter-nit his-tuh-ree, his-tree, al-tur- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a genre of fiction comprising narratives in which a historical event or events take a different path than that which occurred in real life:
Much alternate history has been written about World War II.
a work of fiction in which a historical event or events take a different path than that which occurred in real life:
The first of her alternate histories, the one in which Aaron Burr wins the 1800 presidential election, is my favorite.

First recorded in 1975–80

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