as in novella
a work with imaginary characters and events that is shorter and usually less complex than a novel
bought a collection of his novels and novelettes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 novelette
Alfred Hitchcock turned one of Woolrich’s novelettes into Rear Window, for which Woolrich was paid the grand sum of $650.
—
Sam Kashner, Air Mail, 12 Apr. 2025
What began as an audio-only novelette (drawing on el-Mohtar’s own experience with the harp) has transformed into a novella with illustrations: In the town of Thistleford, Hawthorn sisters Esther and Ysabel raise their voices together to sing about everything from adventure to sadness.
—Natalie Zutter
january 2, Literary Hub, 2 Jan. 2025
The next year, Hao Jingfang became the first Chinese woman to win a Hugo, for her novelette Folding Beijing.
—Yi-Ling Liu, Wired, 9 Mar. 2021
Flash fiction, short stories, and novelettes don’t usually get the same amount of attention as their longer counterparts, which is a shame.
—Andrew Liptak, The Verge, 15 Nov. 2018
Graphic novelettes issued by the U.S. Army Cyber Institute aim to educate soldiers about digital threats
Stephen Cass
23 Mar 2018
3 min read
Stephen Cass is the special projects editor at IEEE Spectrum.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Mar. 2018
Sam Kashner, Air Mail, 12 Apr. 2025
What began as an audio-only novelette (drawing on el-Mohtar’s own experience with the harp) has transformed into a novella with illustrations: In the town of Thistleford, Hawthorn sisters Esther and Ysabel raise their voices together to sing about everything from adventure to sadness.
—Natalie Zutter
january 2, Literary Hub, 2 Jan. 2025
The next year, Hao Jingfang became the first Chinese woman to win a Hugo, for her novelette Folding Beijing.
—Yi-Ling Liu, Wired, 9 Mar. 2021
Flash fiction, short stories, and novelettes don’t usually get the same amount of attention as their longer counterparts, which is a shame.
—Andrew Liptak, The Verge, 15 Nov. 2018
Graphic novelettes issued by the U.S. Army Cyber Institute aim to educate soldiers about digital threats
Stephen Cass
23 Mar 2018
3 min read
Stephen Cass is the special projects editor at IEEE Spectrum.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for novelette
Noun
-
The Norwegian writer Vigdis Hjorth creates a whole world in very few pages in this novella-length work in which even the pacing of the narrative itself does so much of the storytelling.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
In this inventive, boundary-pushing follow-up to Detransition, Baby, one novella and three stories take on gender, transness and lives on the margins in all of their gorgeously complicated glory.—
Caroline Killilea,
PEOPLE,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
One tree may have even witnessed the grisly moment told of in tall tales, which gave Hangman's Gulch its name, but sadly, the tree recently died and had to be cut down for the safety of trail users.—
Olivia Young,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
-
China has two films in the main competition, the 2025 $215m box office hit Nobody by Shui Yu, and Tana, a contemporary tale about a young woman who leaves Shanghai to support her ailing father in Inner Mongolia.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
20 June 2026
-
This is a developing story and will be updated.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
20 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Novelette.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/novelette. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
