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:
Adapted from an 1895 Arthur Schnitzler novella that went unpublished until this century, “Late Fame” is a character study and parable whose concerns extend by implication in several directions.
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
The first English-language edition of Trotzig’s 1964 novella “Queen”—one of the author’s greatest achievements—may help to fill that gap.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Bentley's gamble on the 2011 novella by Denis Johnson appears to have paid off.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
Not since her week in Primrose Hill, typing out the novella, and what a foolish excitement that seemed now.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas also questions whether who inherit rulership deserve that duty, reflecting their cravenness in shining gleam of its heroes’ virtue.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 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
The moment in question could be a big deal for some fans of Martin’s novellas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2026
Another spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, adapted from a series of novellas written by Martin, launched last month.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
Separated but by half a century the cantos are the antipodes of the novellas.
From Historia Amoris: A History of Love, Ancient and Modern by Saltus, Edgar
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
Another step in the realistic direction would have transformed all these religious myths into novelle; and then a new beauty, the beauty of the Decameron and Novellino, would have been shed upon them.
From Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature Part 1 (of 2) by Symonds, John Addington
I'll warrant it is not Mr. Butter's Spellings nor Murray the Grammarian, but some trash of a novelle.
From Gilian The Dreamer His Fancy, His Love and Adventure by Munro, Neil
Both these incidents are the common property of Italian novelle and our own stage.
From The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume I by Summers, Montague
And these novelle became, as is generally known, common in English translations after the middle of the sixteenth century.
From The English Novel by Saintsbury, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
