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

Music Box Theatre The theater’s big deployers of expensive live-feed scenography tend to be self-serious — which is one of many reasons that Kip Williams’s camera-happy adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s still deadly clever novella came as such a delight. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2025

But the novella is not merely about one man’s unrequited love. —Merve Emre, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025

From Ally Carter's romantic and mysterious The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year to Janice Hallett's darkly funny novella The Christmas Appeal, the books on this list will leave you with thrills and chills. —Sabienna Bowman, PEOPLE, 29 Nov. 2025

Charles Dickens’ holiday novella was adapted for the stage and directed by Cygnet artistic director Sean Murray, with lyrics by Murray and original music by Billy Thompson. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 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