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novelist

novelist

112 3.4
A person who writes long made up stories for a living
  • noun
  • /ˈnɑːvəlɪst/
translation icon : novelista
  • Jadon is a great novelist and also a great poet.
  • novelist and writer
  • novelist who writes
  • poets and novelists

Jadon is a great novelist and also a great poet.

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Examples

  • But like all novelists, I'm in search of the self.

  • Nidra Poller is an American novelist and journalist who has been living in Paris since 1972.

    Academic text (2011)
  • When I first started this book, I said I'm a novelist, so I should write a novel.

  • My mother explained that he was a famous novelist, but that didn't help at all.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Because when he started writing, there was a very successful American novelist called Winston Churchill.

  • Some of you may have read Albert Camus, the French novelist The Stranger.

  • She was an 18th century novelist, wrote supernatural stories.

  • Captain Gaskell, I want you to meet Charlie McCaleb, the American novelist.

  • James Baldwin, the well known American novelist who's achieved A worldwide fame with his novel Another Country.

  • As a successful novelist, she has captivated millions with her storytelling.

Synonyms

writer
vsnovelist
1.0

A person who creates books, articles, or stories

works mainly on long fictional books rather than varied texts or articles
author
vsnovelist
2.0

A person who writes books or articles

focuses on long fictional books rather than all types of professional writing
fictionist
vsnovelist
7.3

A person who writes novels or short stories that are made up

focuses on long fictional books rather than varied fiction forms
fictioneer
vsnovelist
  • Informal
8.8

A person who invents stories for books or to mislead people

is used for professional work rather than informal or playful storytelling

How Established

novelist
112 3.4
writer
1.0
novice
46 3.4

Surface Forms

novelist singular
novelists plural

Morphology

novelist = novel (transparent) = novel + ist

The meaning 'a person who writes novels' follows directly from 'novel' + the agentive suffix '-ist', which is a productive and regular formation.

Etymology

The word novelist comes from novel, which comes from the Italian novella and the Latin novus, both meaning 'new'. A novel was originally 'a new story', so a novelist is a writer who makes 'new' stories — in other words, someone who writes novels.