short stories

noun

plural of short story
as in stories
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of short stories In many classic short stories, the real action occurs in the silences. — Niela Orr, Vulture, 20 July 2026 And Salinger has written short stories about his best friends with love, brilliance and 20-20 vision. — Book Marks, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026 Yates brought out three more novels in the 1980s, along with another book of short stories, Liars in Love (1981). — Scott Spires, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 July 2026 Child has penned 29 Jack Reacher novels, as well as a book of short stories. — Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 30 June 2026 These invasion fictions took a range of forms, from short stories and pamphlets to novellas and full-length novels, and proliferated especially in the late-Victorian and Edwardian period leading up to World War I, which brought the subgenre’s brief flourishing to an end. — Ivan Kreilkamp, JSTOR Daily, 10 June 2026 Since then, the latter has authored over 40 fantasy and science fiction works, including novels, graphic novels, young adult novels and short stories which have collectively sold over 50 million copies worldwide. — Shyla Watson, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026 In February of that year, Gabriel García Márquez, then a law student who was beginning to publish his first short stories in newspapers, attended a demonstration led by Gaitán. — Roberto Andrés, The Dial, 28 May 2026 The Book Catapult Specializing in literary fiction, short stories and narrative nonfiction. — Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 20 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for short stories
  1. stories
  2. tales
  3. novellas
Noun
  • Horrific news stories about hospitals making choices about who received treatment began to shape her story.
    — Felicia Feaster, AJC.com, 27 July 2026
  • As with any prestige product or famous brand, many stories have been created around champagne, sometimes to increase the mystique, sometimes in an effort to explain things that are not easy to understand, sometimes to make complicated things simple.
    — Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
Definition of stories
Noun
  • Both lefties, Skubel (6 feet 3, 220) is much bigger than Dalkowski (5-11, 175) and may throw as hard, but has yet to take a hitter’s ear off, to reference one of the tall tales associated with him.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 26 July 2026
  • High-profile cameos from Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider help these parodies retain the spirit of the original tales, and in a true indication of quality, King is rumored to have praised it.
    — Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 25 July 2026
Definition of tales
Noun
  • Crime fiction aficionados are sure to devour this collection of six novellas from the bestselling author.
    — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 21 June 2026
  • These invasion fictions took a range of forms, from short stories and pamphlets to novellas and full-length novels, and proliferated especially in the late-Victorian and Edwardian period leading up to World War I, which brought the subgenre’s brief flourishing to an end.
    — Ivan Kreilkamp, JSTOR Daily, 10 June 2026
Definition of novellas

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short stories
short story
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Cite this Entry

“Short stories.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/short%20stories. Accessed 29 Jul. 2026.

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