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PlainSpell

novel

/ˈnɑvəl/adjective, noun

novel is spelled N-O-V-E-L: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 43 times per million words in written English, the 2,339th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, novel means “Newly made, formed or evolved; having no precedent; of recent origin; new” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in novel?

Letters5: N-O-V-E-L
Syllables1
In writing43 times per million words; the 2,339th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is novel?

Novel appears 43 times per million words in written English, the 2,339th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce novel?

  • UK /ˈnɒvəl/
  • UK [ˈnɒvɫ̩]
  • US /ˈnɑvəl/

Novel has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-novel.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with novel?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as novel from its last stressed vowel (/ɑvəl/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of novel

  • more novel comparative
  • most novel superlative
  • novels plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does novel mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Newly made, formed or evolved; having no precedent; of recent origin; new.

  2. 2

    Original, especially in an interesting way; new and striking; not of the typical or ordinary type.

noun

  1. 1

    A work of prose fiction, longer than a novella.

  2. 2

    A fable; a short tale, especially one of many making up a larger work.

  3. 3

    A new legal constitution.

  4. 4

    obsoleteA novelty; something new.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Novel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchnouveau, nouvelle, original, originale (new, original, especially in an interesting way), roman (work of prose fiction), novelle (Translations)
Germanneuartig, neu (new, original, especially in an interesting way), Roman, Novelle (work of prose fiction)
Portuguesenovo, nova, original (new, original, especially in an interesting way), romance, novela (work of prose fiction)
Spanishnovedoso (new, original, especially in an interesting way), novela, romance (work of prose fiction)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does novel come from?

From Middle English novel, from Old French novel (“new, fresh, recent, recently made or done, strange, rare”) (modern nouvel, nouveau), from Latin novellus (“new, fresh, young, modern”), diminutive of novus (“new”). Doublet of nouveau.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after novel