Definition of novelty
novelties
1 : something new or unusual the novelty of a self-driving car
2 : the quality or state of being novel : newness an uncritical acceptance of novelty as advance — H. M. Jones A toy's novelty soon wears off.
3 : a small manufactured article intended mainly for personal or household adornment —usually used in plural Disney novelties filled the shelves.
4 : something (such as a song or food item) that provides often fleeting amusement and is often based on a theme —often used attributively The movie included a few novelty songs.
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Examples of novelty in a Sentence
the novelty of space exploration
Electric-powered cars are still novelties.
Eating shark meat is a novelty to many people.
Recent Examples of novelty from the Web
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The adult businesses were fixtures for many years: Log Cabin Adult Theater, Dreamers Video, Christal’s lingerie and novelties, Show Time Cabaret, New Video and Fantasy Foxx, which featured nude dancing.
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The novelty wore off as skaters tired of the smell, writes Zoe Craig for Londonist, and the Glaciarium closed before the year was out.
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The MVP is a narrative award that relies on novelty.
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Up until now, Valve’s whole push to release films through Steam has seemed like a weird novelty.
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Was there really a place in mainstream menswear for such a novelty item?
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Balanchine (1904-1983) and Lincoln Kirstein (1907-1996), City Ballet’s founding fathers, committed it to novelty and to a repertory composed almost entirely of its own commissions.
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All-new design is not the only novelty that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ deliver.
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For novelty-loving Japanese, in-car navigation systems have become a hot item.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'novelty'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of novelty
Middle English novelte, from Anglo-French novelté, from novel
First Known Use: 14th century
Other Business Terms
NOVELTY Defined for English Language Learners
novelty
playDefinition of novelty for English Language Learners
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: the quality or state of being new, different, and interesting
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: something that is new or unusual : something novel
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: something unusual and entertaining that is popular for a short period of time
NOVELTY Defined for Kids
novelty
playDefinition of novelty for Students
novelties
1 : something new or unusual Grandma remembers when television was a novelty.
2 : the quality or state of being new or unusual The toy's novelty soon wore off.
3 : a small unusual ornament or toy
Law Dictionary
novelty
playLegal Definition of novelty
novelties
: the quality or state of being new : quality of being different from anything in prior existence satisfied the requirement of novelty for a patent on the design
Learn More about novelty
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for novelty Spanish Central: Translation of novelty Nglish: Translation of novelty for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of novelty for Arabic speakers
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