novelty
Americannoun
plural
novelties-
state or quality of being novel, new, or unique; newness.
the novelty of a new job.
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a novel occurrence, experience, or proceeding.
His sarcastic witticisms had ceased being an entertaining novelty.
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an article of trade whose value is chiefly decorative, comic, or the like and whose appeal is often transitory.
a store catering to tourists who loaded up with souvenir pennants and other novelties.
adjective
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Textiles.
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(of a weave) consisting of a combination of basic weaves.
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(of a fabric or garment) having a pattern or design produced by a novelty weave.
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(of yarn) having irregularities within the fibrous structure.
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of or relating to novelties as articles of trade.
novelty goods; novelty items.
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having or displaying novelties.
novelty shop.
noun
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the quality of being new and fresh and interesting
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( as modifier )
novelty value
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a new or unusual experience or occurrence
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(often plural) a small usually cheap new toy, ornament, or trinket
Etymology
Origin of novelty
1350–1400; Middle English novelte < Middle French novelete < Late Latin novellitās newness. See novel 2, -ity
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.
Sooner or later, the final picture is going to lose its novelty.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026
Editors often rejected them on the grounds that replication work lacks novelty or that the field had already moved on after a few years.
From Science Daily • Mar. 29, 2026
“This new republic had more continuity than novelty, since many politicians who were central to the dictatorship moved to central roles in the democratic government,” explains Gasparotto.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026
For much of it the spectacle was the substance: the crudeness, the nocturnal tweeting, the sheer stylistic novelty.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026
Even now, I could not quite get used to the novelty of walking big hills without a large pack.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
