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
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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
Canadian writer Brendon Holder, who writes a popular tech and culture newsletter called Loosey, got thousands of new followers after releasing a serialized novella called “Come If You Want” on Substack last summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 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
In Birgitta Trotzig’s novella, a young woman’s toughness in the face of poverty and heartbreak sets her apart from her village peers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 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
Transit recently released another Harpman book, “We Were Forbidden,” a trio of never-before translated novellas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 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
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
“The Body” was published in 1982 in “Different Seasons,” a collection of four King novellas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 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
The flood of Italian novelle introduced into England by Painter and his school, imported a new condition into the problem.
From The Palace of Pleasure, Volume 1 by William Painter
Amongst other versions of the story is a novelle by Giovanni Brevio, published as part of his "Rime" in 1545.
From Game and Playe of the Chesse A Verbatim Reprint of the First Edition, 1474 by William Caxton
Both these incidents are the common property of Italian novelle and our own stage.
From The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume I by Montague Summers
His novelle are nothing less than episcopal in tone and he had the grace to omit his dignity from his title-pages.
From The Palace of Pleasure, Volume 1 by William Painter
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