novelistic

American

[nov-uh-lis-tik] / ˌnɒv əˈlɪs tɪk /

adjective

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

novelistic British

/ ˌnɒvəˈlɪstɪk /

adjective

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

his novelistic account annoyed other historians

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

novelistically adverb

Etymology

Origin of novelistic

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They are undeniably cinematic—all five of these books have been made into movies—yet their pleasures are novelistic.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

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 • Apr. 26, 2024

If the story I have told you so far feels a bit novelistic, well, it feels that way to me too.

From Salon • Nov. 26, 2023

Out of this emerge scenes full of natural wonder, deeply imagined and described in bravura prose, the novelistic equivalent of a big-screen final reel.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 28, 2023

Shepherd was an acquired taste: He told tales in novelistic form about his childhood in the Midwest, his life in the army, and his adult misadventures in New York City.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023