plural novelties
Synonyms of novelty
1
: something new or unusual
the novelty of a self-driving car
2
: the quality or state of being novel : newness
… a general uncritical acceptance of novelty as advance …—H. M. Jones
A toy's novelty soon wears off.
3
: a small manufactured article intended mainly for personal or household adornment
—usually plural
Disney novelties filled the shelves.
4
: something (such as a song or food item) that provides often fleeting amusement and is often based on a theme
—often used before another noun
The movie included a few novelty songs.

Examples of novelty in a Sentence

the novelty of space exploration Electric-powered cars are still novelties. Eating shark meat is a novelty to many people.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
There are better ways to bring fun and novelty to this show than reenacting old RHONY GIFs. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026 The horror film follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a shy young man desperate to escape the friend zone, who uses a novelty item called the One Wish Willow to wish that his crush, Nikki, would love him more than anyone else in the world. — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026 Yet Manzatto emphasizes that his strategy is not to turn Church’s into a fashion brand dependent on constant novelty. — Luke Leitch, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026 The general trivia and straight clues are also tough, and there’s a good amount of novelty, including 11 debut entries, a few oddballs among them, and one utterly brutal misdirect that significantly spiced up my solving experience. — Caitlin Lovinger, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for novelty

Word History

Etymology

Middle English novelte, borrowed from Anglo-French novelté, from novel "new, novel entry 1" + -té -ty

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of novelty was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Novelty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/novelty. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Kids Definition

plural novelties
1
: something new or unusual
2
: the quality or state of being novel : newness
3
: a small article intended mainly as an unusual ornament or toy
—usually used in plural

Legal Definition

plural novelties
: the quality or state of being new : quality of being different from anything in prior existence
satisfied the requirement of novelty for a patent on the design
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