Zola

American  

[zoh-luh, zaw-la] / ˈzoʊ lə, zɔˈla /

noun

1. Émile 1840–1902, French novelist.

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Zola British  

/ zɔla, ˈzəʊlə /

noun

1. Émile (emil). 1840–1902, French novelist and critic; chief exponent of naturalism. In Les Rougon-Macquart (1871–93), a cycle of 20 novels, he explains the behaviour of his characters in terms of their heredity: it includes L'Assommoir (1877), Nana (1880), Germinal (1885), and La Terre (1887). He is also noted for his defence of Dreyfus in his pamphlet J'accuse (1898)

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Other Word Forms

• Zolaesque
  adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Zola

"I gave my passport to the officer. He was shocked. 'Are you really Tonton Zola Moukoko?' he asked. 'You can't be the one that was playing at Derby!'"

From BBC ● May 5, 2026

Old allegiance, old history, shared blood, old tribes, old paper—Magna Carta, Émile Zola.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

But novelist Emile Zola then penned his famous "J'accuse...!"

From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025

“There is a contrast between the dreamy, aspirational images couples want to emulate, the trends they want to incorporate, and the reality of what their budget allows,” Zola notes.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2025

And while I am wondering this, I also think about Zola.

From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech