novella

noun no·vel·la \ nō-ˈve-lə \

Definition of novella

plural novellas or novelle play \nō-ˈve-lē\

1 plural novelle : a story with a compact and pointed plot

2 plural novellas : a work of fiction intermediate in length and complexity between a short story and a novel

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Examples of novella in a Sentence

pressed for time, many English teachers have their students read the one novella among the novelist's works

Recent Examples of novella from the Web

In the Jim Crow South, Brady Sims pulls out a gun in a courtroom and shoots his own son; a novella by the author of A Lesson Before Dying.

— jocelyn mcclurg, USA TODAY, "New paperbacks: Bruce Springsteen, Megyn Kelly, Zadie Smith," 7 Sep. 2017
The Stephen King adaptation train keeps on rolling, this time with a version of his novella about a farmer (Thomas Jane) who sets in motion a plan to kill his wife (Molly Parker)—to dreadful ends.

— nick schager, Esquire, "Here Are the Must-Stream Movies of October 2017," 29 Sep. 2017
Chronologically arranged but narratively discrete, Keene’s collection of 13 stories and novellas examines lives marked by the tectonic historical pressures of its five-century scope.

— julian lucas, New York Times, "Epic Stories That Expand the Universal Family Plot," 1 Sep. 2017
Florence Pugh is electrifying as an evolving woman choosing a controversial path in this stark 2016 British drama, based on Nikolai Leskov's 1865 novella.

— chris ball, cleveland.com, "'Lady Macbeth' stars Florence Pugh, now on DVD (review)," 24 Oct. 2017
The master of horror, Stephen King, has a couple of new books out: Sleeping Beauties, his novel with son Owen about women around the globe going to sleep and not waking up, plus his coming-of-age novella Gwendy’s Button Box with Richard Chizmar.

— brian truitt, USA TODAY, "Here's where to get your horror fix this Halloween," 17 Oct. 2017
Castle Rock has been featured in numerous King stories over the years, including but not limited to The Dead Zone, Cujo, and The Body, the novella that provided the basis for Rob Reiner's Stand By Me.

— josh wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Castle Rock': A Closer Look at the Trailer for Hulu's Stephen King Series," 9 Oct. 2017
Segel was an executive producer on the series The Mist, which was based on a Stephen King novella and aired on Spike TV.

— sarah gray, Fortune, "Female Showrunner Accuses Harvey Weinstein's Brother of Sexual Harassment," 17 Oct. 2017
The film, based on a novella the of same name that appeared in King’s 2010 collection Full Dark, No Stars, features Thomas Jane as a farmer who murders his wife in the titular year and is deservedly very, very haunted.

— gabrielle bruney, Esquire, "And the Stephen King Adaptations Just Keep On Coming," 23 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'novella.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of novella

borrowed from Italian, "piece of news, announcement, story, narrative," noun derivative from feminine of novello "new," going back to Latin novellus "young, tender (of plants or animals)," from novus "new" + -ellus, diminutive suffix — more at ¹new

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1677

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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