Meaning & use
novel information
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountableformaltechnical
facts, ideas, or data that were not known or reported before.
Grammar: Uncountable: say 'novel information', not 'a novel information' or 'novel informations'.
Patterns
- provide novel information
- contain novel information
- novel information about something
The survey provided novel information about how teenagers use social media.
Her thesis contains novel information that challenges earlier studies.
We need novel information, not a summary of what is already known.
noununcountabletechnicalspecialist
in psychology and learning science, new material that a person has not encountered before.
Grammar: Used as a technical term; it contrasts with 'familiar information'.
Patterns
- process novel information
- retain novel information
The brain processes novel information differently from familiar material.
Older adults may need more time to retain novel information.
Common combinations
- provide novel information
- The interviews provide novel information about local voting habits.
- novel information about
- The report gives us novel information about the effects of the drug.
- contain novel information
- The second chapter contains novel information on the topic.
- a source of novel information
- Fieldwork is a source of novel information for anthropologists.
Synonyms and how they differ
- new information
- More general and less formal; 'novel information' sounds more academic and stresses originality.
- fresh information
- Often suggests recently received information, not necessarily original or previously unknown.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: novel information or novel?
novel information vs novel
As a noun, 'novel' means a long story; as an adjective, it means new. In 'novel information' it is the adjective.
Practice
The study offers ___ information about the virus's spread.
Choose one answer.
'Information' is uncountable, so it takes no article and 'novel' stays in its base adjective form. 'A novel' is wrong because 'information' cannot be counted.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “novel information”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.