Meaning & use
telenovela
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Meanings
nouncountable
A television drama series from Latin America, usually shown daily, with a dramatic romantic plot that runs for a set number of episodes.
Grammar: Takes an article: a telenovela, the telenovela.
Patterns
- a telenovela about something
- watch a telenovela
My grandmother never misses her favorite telenovela at eight o'clock.
The telenovela follows a poor girl who falls in love with a rich heir.
That telenovela ran for 150 episodes before its final scene.
nouncountableinformalfigurative
Any situation in real life that is full of exaggerated drama, secrets and emotional twists, like such a program.
Grammar: Used figuratively, often with a like phrase: it was like a telenovela.
Patterns
- like a telenovela
- a real telenovela
The whole family argument was like a telenovela.
Their office romance turned into a real telenovela.
Between the secret twins and the lost will, our neighborhood feels like a telenovela.
Word forms
| plural | telenovelas |
|---|
Common combinations
- watch a telenovela
- We watch a telenovela together every evening.
- popular telenovela
- It became a popular telenovela across the region.
- star in a telenovela
- She starred in a telenovela before moving to films.
- telenovela plot
- The story has a classic telenovela plot.
- telenovela star
- He is a former telenovela star.
Synonyms and how they differ
- soap opera
- Soap opera is the general English term, but soap operas often run for years, while a telenovela usually has a planned end.
- serial
- Serial is a wider word for any story told in episodes, not necessarily a romantic one.
- melodrama
- Melodrama describes an exaggerated emotional style and need not be a television show.
- drama series
- Drama series is neutral and wide, and does not suggest the romantic, over-the-top style of a telenovela.
Word family
- novela noun
- Spanish word for a novel or serial story
- soap opera noun
- an English-language serial drama
- telenovelas noun
- plural form
- television noun
- the medium it is shown on
Commonly confused: telenovela or soap opera?
telenovela vs soap opera
A soap opera is the English-language equivalent, but it usually has no fixed end, which is the main difference from a telenovela.
Practice
Unlike many English-language soap operas, a ______ usually has a planned final episode.
Choose one answer.
A telenovela is a serial drama with a set length. A sitcom is a comedy, so it is not the serial romance the sentence compares to a soap opera.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “telenovela”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.