novella
gb/noʊvˈɛlə/ us/noʊvˈɛlə/
C1
English
Senses
0 senses
Noun
C1
entity
1
Short prose fiction work
A short book of fiction, longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.
Usage pattern:
a novella by [author]; a novella about [subject]
Common mistake:
Do not use novella for any short book; it normally refers to fiction, not nonfiction.
Synonyms
short novel (A common descriptive phrase, often less precise than novella.)
|
long short story (Emphasizes its length between a short story and a novel.)
|
novelette (Usually means a short novella or long short story; can sound old-fashioned or genre-specific.)
Collocations
write a novella
|publish a novella
|read a novella
|a short novella
|a literary novella
|a science fiction novella
|a novella by an author
|a novella about family
|a collection of novellas
|novella form
Themes
literature
|books
|fiction
|writing
Examples
- The author’s latest book is a novella about two sisters who inherit an old hotel.
- At only 120 pages, it is usually classified as a novella rather than a full-length novel.
- The class read a novella by Steinbeck before moving on to longer works of fiction.
Learner examples
- I read a short novella on the train.
- She wrote a novella about her childhood town.
Grammar
Dictionary form
novella
IPA
GB/noʊvˈɛlə/
US/noʊvˈɛlə/
Syllables & stress
novella (1 syllable)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: novella
- Plural: novellas, novelle
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.