How to Use telenovela in a Sentence

telenovela

noun
Definition of telenovelanext
  • The singer says it’s an homage to the galán telenovela actors of the 1950s.
    — Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2022
  • The song was a huge hit and was used as the theme song for a telenovela that shared the same name.
    — Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2021
  • Since the 1970s, Globo is by a large head the free-to-air TV leader in Brazil and one the world’s top telenovela producers.
    — Marcelo Cajueiro, Variety, 1 May 2022
  • In their downtime some of the girls watch telenovelas, paint their nails, braid their hair.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Oct. 2019
  • And heaven knows the course of true telenovela love never did run smooth.
    — Robert Bianco, USA TODAY, 8 May 2017
  • But after the release of the former’s telenovela-inspired video spawned dozens of GIFs, Epic knew which one to push.
    — Tatiana Cirisano, Billboard, 18 Oct. 2019
  • The show, just as popular in Israel as in the West Bank, is written and directed in the over-the-top telenovela style.
    — Kenneth Turan, Detroit Free Press, 8 Aug. 2019
  • Omar Ayuso, who shares the same name as his character, is a pillar of the teen telenovela Elite.
    — Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2023
  • In the telenovela-style thriller, a woman has an affair with a stranger in a nightclub and the fallout includes a dead body in a bathtub.
    — Ellen Gamerman, WSJ, 10 Dec. 2020
  • If the outlines of the plot sound like pure melodrama, that's not far off; at least a few of the movie's more outrageous threads wouldn't feel out of place in a telenovela.
    — Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 22 Sep. 2021
  • One is a charming telenovela actor and the other is a hidden figure who has to work twice as hard to make her voice heard.
    — Pamela Avila, USA TODAY, 20 July 2023
  • This film starts as a documentary but slowly takes the form of a telenovela.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 13 Aug. 2024
  • Joao Emanuel Carneiro will write the next Globoplay telenovela, Bretas said.
    — Marcelo Cajueiro, Variety, 1 May 2022
  • Now, close to the three-year anniversary of the 49ers trade for Garoppolo, the behind-the-scenes machinations still seem worthy of a telenovela.
    — Ann Killion, SFChronicle.com, 19 Oct. 2020
  • Serena stands in the background, watching them with a mixture of sadness and envy like the third wheel in a telenovela.
    — Sarah Bichsel, baltimoresun.com, 15 June 2017
  • In fact, Nielsen reports more than 6 million telenovela viewers per week across the U.S.
    — Nicole Gull McElroy, Fortune, 4 July 2021
  • The telenovela star and her husband share an 8-year-old daughter, Aitana.
    — Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2022
  • The telenovela has had its unforeseen plot twists, its moments of madness and its bursts of brilliance.
    — Aleks Klosok, CNN, 11 Aug. 2020
  • Fans of the popular pop-rock music group and Rebelde telenovela will love the instant collection of the beloved group.
    — Jessica Roiz, Billboard, 14 Nov. 2023
  • The telenovela works itself out in under a year, with a finite cast of characters.
    — New York Times, 4 July 2021
  • The 2024 telenovela will tell the story of two soulmates trapped in the threshold between life and death over several centuries.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 16 May 2023
  • In the living room, my grandmother watched a syrupy telenovela.
    — New York Times, 20 July 2021
  • Like other Latina actresses, Salma Hayek first stepped in front of the cameras for a telenovela.
    — Selena Barrientos, Good Housekeeping, 30 June 2022
  • Then the video pulls back to reveal Cabello watching the telenovela drama unfold on a retro TV set.
    — Johnny Diaz, Sun-Sentinel.com, 24 Oct. 2017
  • After the Hallie telenovela-worthy bombshell, Buhle says that Hunter can no longer hurt her, that the worst is behind her.
    — Karen Heller, Washington Post, 14 June 2022
  • Thomas and Lee have turned that kind of sickening hatred into a telenovela, spiked with easy targets and derisive laughter—by the many for the many.
    — Steven Strogatz, The New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2018
  • The jokes are fast-paced and tinged with absurdity; at its best, Los Espookys can feel like a half-hour telenovela assembled in the 30 Rock writers’ room.
    — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 3 July 2019
  • Sofía Gascón, a trans Spanish actor known largely for parts in telenovelas, works wonders with the toughest of roles.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 May 2024
  • Under the terms of the agreement, Big Media will distribute over 7,000 hours of telenovelas to streaming platforms around the world.
    — Marta Balaga, Variety, 28 Mar. 2023
  • These are flashbacks lifted straight from the original telenovela, with Orozco’s youthful voice guiding us through the shift in aspect ratios that bridge the past and the present.
    — Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'telenovela.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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