novelistic

[ nov-uh-lis-tik ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of novels. novel.

novelistic

/ ˌnɒvəˈlɪstɪk /

adjective

1. of or characteristic of novels, esp in style or method of treatment

   his novelistic account annoyed other historians

Other Words From

• novel·isti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of novelistic¹

First recorded in 1825–35; novel ¹ + -istic

Example Sentences

It’s a long work, nearly three hours, written in the Chekhovian realistic tradition and crammed with novelistic details that can’t be fully assimilated in one sitting.

From Los Angeles Times

Spend enough time there and I guarantee you’ll find yourself gaining almost novelistic insight into what your high school English teacher called “the human condition.”

From Slate

The play is verbose, the plot is sluggishly novelistic and the operatic scale is indulgent.

From Los Angeles Times

European auteurs, such as Thomas Ostermeier and Ivo van Hove, have had success burning away what impatient modern audiences might consider novelistic padding.

From Los Angeles Times

The narrative of the complaint, rendered in a lurid novelistic style and including lightly redacted text messages purportedly written by McMahon, takes the depravity of the story to new depths.

From Salon