Skip to content
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

novel

/ˈnɑvəl/

Press play to hear how to pronounce novel.

American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
Watch on YouTube ↗

What does novel mean?

adjective

  1. Newly made, formed or evolved; having no precedent; of recent origin; new.
  2. Original, especially in an interesting way; new and striking; not of the typical or ordinary type.

noun

  1. A work of prose fiction, longer than a novella.
More meanings (3)

noun

  1. (historical) A fable; a short tale, especially one of many making up a larger work.
  2. (obsolete) A novelty; something new.
  3. (historical) A new legal constitution.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈnɑvəl/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

“I am no novel-reader—I seldom look into novels—Do not imagine that I often read novels—It is really very well for a novel.”
Jane AustenNorthanger AbbeyProject Gutenberg ebook #121
We are gradually coming back to a better comprehension of what there is of "truth" in George Sand's conception of the novel.
René DoumicGeorge Sand: Some Aspects of Her Life and WritingsTranslated by Alys HallardProject Gutenberg ebook #138
More book examples (3)
These gallant words which seem so novel to those that speak them were said in accents scarcely changed a hundred times before.
W. Somerset (William Somerset) MaughamThe Moon and SixpenceProject Gutenberg ebook #222
But the ordinary man and woman prefer to take their crime romanticised, as it is administered to them in novel or play.
H. B. (Henry Brodribb) IrvingA Book of Remarkable CriminalsProject Gutenberg ebook #446
The results of my observations were of so novel a character that astronomers for some time hesitated to accept them as facts.
James NasmythJames Nasmyth, Engineer: An AutobiographyProject Gutenberg ebook #476