noun · neutral
novel
UK/ˈnɒvəl/US/ˈnɑːvəl/NO·vel
Band 6-7speakingtask2
a long fictional book that tells a story with characters and a plot
Examples
“The IELTS reading included an extract from a 19th-century novel.”
“She prefers historical novels to crime fiction.”
“He won an award for his debut novel.”
Band 8 sentence
“Although the novel is set in a small town, its exploration of class and memory has universal resonance, which is why critics praised it so highly.”
Collocations
- write a novel
- a best-selling novel
- a historical novel
Word family
novelist nounnovelistic adjectivenovelize / novelise verb
Common mistakes
I read three novel last year.→I read three novels last year.
He wrote a book about that character (meaning a fictional long story).→He wrote a novel about that character.
Say it for a higher band
5book→6story→7+novel
Synonyms
book
Easily confused
book
“Her latest book is a historical novel.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Art & Culture
Learn it with its set