as in novella
a work with imaginary characters and events that is shorter and usually less complex than a novel
bought a collection of his novels and novelettes
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Recent Examples of novelette
Alfred Hitchcock turned one of Woolrich’s novelettes into Rear Window, for which Woolrich was paid the grand sum of $650.
—
Sam Kashner, Air Mail, 12 Apr. 2025
What began as an audio-only novelette (drawing on el-Mohtar’s own experience with the harp) has transformed into a novella with illustrations: In the town of Thistleford, Hawthorn sisters Esther and Ysabel raise their voices together to sing about everything from adventure to sadness.
—Natalie Zutter
january 2, Literary Hub, 2 Jan. 2025
The next year, Hao Jingfang became the first Chinese woman to win a Hugo, for her novelette Folding Beijing.
—Yi-Ling Liu, Wired, 9 Mar. 2021
Flash fiction, short stories, and novelettes don’t usually get the same amount of attention as their longer counterparts, which is a shame.
—Andrew Liptak, The Verge, 15 Nov. 2018
Graphic novelettes issued by the U.S. Army Cyber Institute aim to educate soldiers about digital threats
Stephen Cass
23 Mar 2018
3 min read
Stephen Cass is the special projects editor at IEEE Spectrum.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Mar. 2018
Sam Kashner, Air Mail, 12 Apr. 2025
What began as an audio-only novelette (drawing on el-Mohtar’s own experience with the harp) has transformed into a novella with illustrations: In the town of Thistleford, Hawthorn sisters Esther and Ysabel raise their voices together to sing about everything from adventure to sadness.
—Natalie Zutter
january 2, Literary Hub, 2 Jan. 2025
The next year, Hao Jingfang became the first Chinese woman to win a Hugo, for her novelette Folding Beijing.
—Yi-Ling Liu, Wired, 9 Mar. 2021
Flash fiction, short stories, and novelettes don’t usually get the same amount of attention as their longer counterparts, which is a shame.
—Andrew Liptak, The Verge, 15 Nov. 2018
Graphic novelettes issued by the U.S. Army Cyber Institute aim to educate soldiers about digital threats
Stephen Cass
23 Mar 2018
3 min read
Stephen Cass is the special projects editor at IEEE Spectrum.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for novelette
Noun
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None of this instability emerges until late in the interrogation, which is also late in the novella.—
Lily Meyer,
The Atlantic,
5 Sep. 2025
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Benjamin Voisin, who previously worked with Ozon on Summer of 85, stars as protagonist Meursault, the novella’s French expat protagonist who senselessly kills a local man on a beach.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The tale is pilfered from the Aeneid, but Virgil would blench to see the curtain rise on Jupiter, dandling Ganymede, a beautiful boy, upon his knee.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel Hamnet imagined the relationship between the Bard and his spouse as an intimate tale of lust, compromise, joy, resentment, support, and sorrow.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Advertisement Then, in February, after an early version of the site was ready, a story about Shield Seniors and Tejasvi appeared in the Dallas Observer, bringing her to the attention of the people at AARP.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
9 Sep. 2025
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Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.—
Nicholas Rice,
People.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Novelette.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/novelette. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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