novel

novel — noun

1. A book-length work of fiction that tells a story about made-up people, places, a

1.nounB1
Definition

A book-length work of fiction that tells a story about made-up people, places, and events, usually divided into chapters.

Example

Ingrid borrowed three novels from the library for her summer holiday.

borrowed [number] + novels from [place]

Reema spent the weekend reading a historical novel set in 18th-century Japan.

Common collocations
  • read a novel
  • write a novel
  • publish a novel
  • historical novel
  • crime novel
  • debut novel
  • bestselling novel
Synonyms
  • fiction

    uncountable; refers to the genre, not a single book ('I read fiction' vs 'I read a novel')

  • story

    broader; can be short or factual, while a novel is always long and invented

  • book

    general term; a novel is a specific type of book

Antonyms
  • nonfiction

    writing about real events and facts rather than invented ones

Grammar Patterns

[genre] + novel

novel + about + topic

read/write/publish + a novel

Usage Note

Countable noun. Frequently preceded by a genre label such as historical, crime, romance, or science-fiction. The person who writes novels is a novelist, not a 'noveler.'

Common Mistakes

I read a novel book last night.
I read a novel last night.
'Novel' already means a book; adding 'book' is redundant.
She is a famous novel writer.
She is a famous novelist.
Use 'novelist' for the profession.

novel — adjective

Word family

  • novelist
    nounB2
  • novelistic
    adjectiveC1
  • novelty
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe something new, but they differ in emphasis. 'Original' (B2) focuses on being the first of its kind — an original idea is one that nobody had before. 'Novel' (B2) adds the nuance of being surprisingly different from what came before. 'Innovative' (B2) highlights practical usefulness and improvement; it is the most common in business writing. 'Fresh' (B1) is less formal and suggests a welcome, unspoiled quality — a fresh perspective on a problem. 'Groundbreaking' (C1) is the strongest: it means the idea changes how people think about an entire field. For everyday descriptions of a new method or design, 'novel' or 'innovative' work best. For example: 'The engineer proposed a novel way to store solar energy,' vs 'The startup developed an innovative app for food delivery.'

original ↗innovative ↗fresh ↗groundbreaking ↗

Etymology

LatinItalianEnglish

The word comes from Italian 'novella,' meaning 'a short story or piece of news,' which in turn comes from Latin 'novellus,' a diminutive of 'novus' meaning 'new.' The noun sense — a long fictional story — entered English in the 17th century. The adjective sense grew separately from the same Latin root and has been used since the 15th century to describe anything new or previously unknown.