How to Use space opera in a Sentence

space opera

noun
  • This is a human drama, not space opera.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 3 Dec. 2025
  • Firefly is part Western, part space opera, part caper, and all fun.
    — Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 3 July 2025
  • Season 2’s first arc, while mostly great, leaned more toward soap opera than space opera.
    — Noel Murray, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
  • 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
  • Cosmic space opera fans should love what Bungie's largest sci-fi universe yet has to offer.
    — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Fans can really grasp the space opera through the eyes of the beloved protagonist.
    — Mythili Devarakonda, USA TODAY, 9 Aug. 2022
  • Otterson unpacks what’s next for the beloved space opera in TV and film.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 25 Mar. 2026
  • From westerns to space operas, weapons are part of popular culture.
    — Jerry Large, The Seattle Times, 25 Jan. 2018
  • In that regard, this is a very different situation to that of a space opera.
    — Ollie Barder, Forbes, 26 Jan. 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
  • 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
  • Ubisoft’s foray into the space opera is a rarity because of its open-world nature and its focus.
    — Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2024
  • What really counts, though, is the space opera’s profitability.
    — Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
  • The film has become a cult classic, celebrated for its sharp wit and satirical take on the space opera genre.
    — Charna Flam, People.com, 19 Jan. 2025
  • And the show still stands as one of the finest space operas on TV (sorry, Star Trek).
    — Matt Miller, Esquire, 17 June 2016
  • 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
  • Even so, the film's planetary vistas and space travel tech wouldn't feel out of place in space operas that followed decades later.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 31 Mar. 2026
  • This was a film that truly opened a gateway to the final frontier — and almost every space opera since has been riding its warp trails.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 31 Mar. 2026
  • 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
  • Starfinder embraces space opera in the style of media such as Star Wars or Guardians of the Galaxy.
    — Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
  • 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 critics were harsh — and legions of fans reared on the original space opera were especially despondent.
    — Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 20 May 2022
  • Great shows are all over From a legendary jazz bassist to a brand new space opera, there is a lot to see and hear in the Bay Area this weekend.
    — Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Dreadstar Returns is a glorious, goofy space opera – a B-movie experience in the best sense.
    — Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 11 June 2021
  • In 1980, Hodges directed the glitzy space opera Flash Gordon.
    — Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 21 Dec. 2022
  • Universal eventually stepped in to bankroll a spin-off movie, though the $39 million budget was a pittance in space opera terms.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 30 Sep. 2025
  • 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
  • Then again, Boyle was never likely to make a family-friendly, multiplex-filling space opera.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 19 Apr. 2026
  • Now, head to the theater and immerse yourself in Dennis Villeneuve’s space opera masterpiece.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2021

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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