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Literature vocabulary · Genres and Forms

Novel

Meaning in literature, with examples

/ˈnɒvl/nounCore term

In literature, novel means: A long story written in prose that describes imaginary people and events, usually long enough to fill a whole book and to develop characters in detail.

In Turkish: roman

How it is used

The central form of modern fiction. You write, publish, read, finish or translate a novel; critics speak of a debut novel, a historical novel or a crime novel. Someone who writes novels is a novelist. Don Quixote is often called the first modern novel.

Example sentences

  1. Her first novel was translated into fifteen languages within two years.

  2. We spent the whole seminar discussing how the novel handles time.

Common collocations

  • write a novel
  • debut novel
  • historical novel
  • graphic novel
  • the novel is set in
  • fictionStories, such as novels and short stories, that describe imaginary events and people rather than real ones.
  • novellaA work of prose fiction that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel, usually focused on one main conflict.
  • short storyA piece of prose fiction that can be read in one sitting, usually focusing on a few characters and a single main event or moment.
  • chapterOne of the main numbered or titled parts into which a book, especially a novel, is divided.
  • genreA category of literature defined by shared features of form, style or subject, such as poetry, drama and the novel, or crime, fantasy and romance.

More terms: Genres and Forms

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