novella

noun

no·​vel·​la nō-ˈve-lə 

plural novellas or novelle 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

Synonyms of novella

• tale
• story

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 on the Web

Directed by Clint Bentley, who wrote the screenplay with Greg Kwedar (the duo behind Sing Sing), based on the novella by Denis Johnson. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2025

The novella is a haunted house, dual point of view ride where the metaphors from the top down are consistently delivered. —Amber McBride, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025

Edgerton stars as an itinerant worker in the early 1900s Pacific Northwest in the adaptation of the Denis Johnson novella, which premiered at Sundance. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 2025

His 2001 novella God’s Debris describes a pandeistic philosophy, while his 2004 novel The Religion War tells the tale of a man on a mission to stop a calamitous war between Christians and Muslims. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 3 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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 new entry 1

First Known Use

1677, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for novella

• brucella
• candela
• capella
• chlorella
• flagella
• glabella
• lamella
• marcella
• mustela
• patella
• predella
• prunella

Kids Definition

novella

noun

no·​vel·​la nō-ˈvel-ə 

: a work of fiction falling between a short story and a novel in length and complexity