A person who opposes novels or the writing and reading of novels, or someone who writes against the novel form as a literary genre.
From anti- (against) + novelist (one who writes novels). The prefix anti- comes from Greek, meaning 'opposite' or 'against,' combined with novelist, which derives from 'novel' (from Italian novella, a short tale). This word emerged in literary criticism contexts when debates arose about the value and morality of novel-reading.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, some religious leaders and moralists actually opposed novels as frivolous or corrupting—so antinovelists were real people with real arguments! This reminds us that what we now see as innocent entertainment was once genuinely controversial.
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