novelty
B2Meanings
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1
noun
cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing
I could hardly believe the tacky novelty they wore to the opera!
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2
noun
a small inexpensive mass-produced article
The store sold party favors, knickknacks, and other such novelties.
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3
noun
originality by virtue of being new and surprising
The critics all commented on the novelty of the artist's work.
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4
noun
The state of being new or novel; newness.
It was by no means pleasant to realize that there was an unknown number of menaces up there over your head, quietly circling and circling until someone should arrange for them to drop - and that there was nothing to be done about them. Still, life has to go on - and novelty is a wonderfully short-lived thing. One became used to the idea perforce.
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5
noun
A new product; an innovation.
Reconciling profound enquiry with clearness, and truth with novelty.
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6
noun
A small mass-produced trinket.
One released image shows Trump with six women with leis whose faces were redacted by committee members, while another depicts what appears to be a bowl of novelty condoms with a caricature of Trump’s face with the text, “I’m HUUUUGE!” The condoms – shown in a bowl with a “Trump condom $4.50” sign – were produced by a novelty shop in New York City named Fishs Eddy.
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7
noun
An opening move played for the first time ever (in high-level chess).
Topalov has unveiled some interesting novelties lately, but there was nothing unusual in his opening here. Sasikiran played the Nimzo-Indian, and Topalov replied with probably the most classical continuation.
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8
adj
In the design of a common household item, often impractically large, and meant primarily for display rather than functional use.
My novelty calculator works fine but it hurts my hands to press the keys.
Etymology
From Middle English novelte, from Old French novelté (Modern French nouveauté), from the adjective novel, ultimately from Latin novellus. By surface analysis, novel + -ty.
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