novella
Americannoun
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novellas,
plural
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novelle
plural
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a tale or short story of the type contained in the Decameron of Boccaccio.
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a fictional prose narrative that is longer and more complex than a short story; a short novel.
noun
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(formerly) a short narrative tale, esp a popular story having a moral or satirical point, such as those in Boccaccio's Decameron
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a short novel; novelette
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of novella
From Italian, dating back to 1900–05; see origin at novel 1
Compare meaning
How does novella compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Short novels are called novellas. If you don't want to write a novel, but have more to say than a short story, you could try writing a novella. You've surely heard of plays, poems, short stories, and novels. But novellas? They're not as well known, but pretty simple: nothing more than short novels. Sometimes novellas are called novelettes, but whatever you call them, you'll probably read a few in English class. Sometimes it's easier to squeeze in a novella than a whole novel, so maybe you could start with Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" or Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis."
Vocabulary lists containing novella
Brand Spankin' New: Words with Neo- and Nov-
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Literary Genres - Introductory
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Reading: Literature - Fiction - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Editora 34 publishing house told AFP that its sales of the novella, one of Dostoevsky's earliest works, had jumped 463 percent year-on-year.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Greta Lee and Edmund Donovan star alongside the actor in this adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s novella about a group of intellectuals fascinated with a once-celebrated writer who now works at a post office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Based on his 1997 children’s novella, this economical piece of autofiction chronicles a life-changing cross-country flight in 1962 from Travolta’s childhood home in New Jersey to the sunny streets of Los Angeles.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
It’s astonishing that Mr. Ozon is the first to make a French film of the novella, which previously yielded only two feature versions, one Italian and the other Turkish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
As you must know, it would be unusual for us to publish a complete novella by an unknown writer, or for that matter a well-established one.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
The stories and novellas of Honoré de Balzac, Guy de Maupassant, Anton Chekhov and Robert Louis Stevenson have sustained me through dark and stormy nights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
These three novellas were written in the 1920s, after the fall of the empire, and in their baroque translation by John Batki they cast back upon bygone times with wistfulness, charm and winking humor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas also questions whether those who inherit rulership deserve that duty, reflecting their cravenness in shining gleam of its heroes’ virtue.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2026
Martin’s “Tales of Dunk and Egg” series of novellas, saw the hopeful hedge knight make some progress toward achieving his dreams.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026
NM: 2 rev. novellas with illus. © 30Mar50; A42861.
From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1977 July - December by Library of Congress. Copyright Office
Included in the novel's 496-page sweep are three brilliant novelle: Ensign Woodbridge's encounter with the hypocritical missionaries, the story of the Irish monk and the satanic trader, Parker, and Seaman O'Connell on a berserk rampage.
From Time Magazine Archive
Even in Spanish or Italian literature it would not be easy to find an exact parallel; for the novelas and novelle are in general only circumstantial anecdotes.
From The Pictures; The Betrothing Novels by Connop Thirlwall
They drew their material from all kinds of narrative sources, Italian novelle, current pamphlets, Latin historians, or English chronicles; and, whether historical or fictitious, were usually known as Histories, i.e., stories.
From The Facts About Shakespeare by William Allan Nielson
In early Italian literature besides Boccaccio, the Cento novelle antiche abound in Oriental elements.
From Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Frederick Crane
And these novelle became, as is generally known, common in English translations after the middle of the sixteenth century.
From The English Novel by George Saintsbury
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