Skip to main content
novelist

novelist

112 3.4
A person who writes long made up stories for a living
  • noun
  • /ˈnɑːvəlɪst/
: 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.

Autoplay Next

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.