as in tale
a work with imaginary characters and events that is shorter and usually less complex than a novel
her very first short story was accepted for publication in a local journal
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Recent Examples of short story
Recently, a short story by Clare Sestanovich made a passing reference to yellow bird poop.
—
Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
The original collection of short stories was published in 1950 and centered on Earth colonizing the Red Planet in a series of devastating expeditions, and its interactions with the world's psychic native inhabitants.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 24 Aug. 2025
The villain of a short story can be the hero of a novel.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 Aug. 2025
The show is described as the first contemporary English language television series adaptation of Christie’s novels and short stories featuring Tommy and Tuppence.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for short story
Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
The original collection of short stories was published in 1950 and centered on Earth colonizing the Red Planet in a series of devastating expeditions, and its interactions with the world's psychic native inhabitants.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 24 Aug. 2025
The villain of a short story can be the hero of a novel.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 Aug. 2025
The show is described as the first contemporary English language television series adaptation of Christie’s novels and short stories featuring Tommy and Tuppence.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for short story
Recent Examples of Synonyms for short story
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
Noun
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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
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Rob Reiner’s 1986 adaptation of Stephen King’s novella The Body was an instant coming-of-age classic, and continues to reach new generations each year.—
Sezin Devi Koehler September 1,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Cherry-picking statistics to suit a narrative — a form of confirmation bias, as described in the commission’s view — is dangerous and undermines the diligence that should come from responsible statistical analysis.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
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The problem comes when ideological casting choices begin to undermine the narrative, contravening Grisham’s famously effective structure and pacing.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Short story.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/short%20story. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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