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nova

[noh-vuh] / ˈnoʊ və /
NOUN
variable star that suddenly erupts
Synonyms
STRONGEST
STRONG
WEAK
aster orb


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“The Brazil of bossa nova and samba, the Brazil that so many foreigners know and that Lula grew up with, has now been almost totally replaced,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

The project, released just before Coachella, blended a diverse range of rhythms such as pop, Brazilian funk, R&B and bossa nova -- a mix that, for Sonza, is the essence of Brazil.

From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026

Overall, the results challenge the long-standing idea that nova eruptions are single, impulsive events.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 31, 2025

Pair the bagels with hand sliced nova salmon, cream cheese, and a slice of tomato for a true feast.

From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025

Then in 1572 Brahe’s nova appeared in the sky.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Astronomers have obtained remarkably detailed images of two stellar explosions -- called novae -- just days after they began.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 31, 2025

The model predicts that a large amount of phosphorus will be released in a ONe nova and that the number of novae will depend on the chemical composition, specifically the iron content, of the stars.

From Science Daily ● May 10, 2024

Some even linked this possibility with novae observed in the sky — sudden bursts of light that dazzle the midnight firmament.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2023

"I was looking for a much more common type of outburst called novae."

From Scientific American ● May 3, 2023

The super-bright novae are called, logically enough, supernovae.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

The Zwicky Transient Facility scans the sky for stars that rapidly change in brightness, which could be events such as novas.

From Scientific American ● May 3, 2023

There was a kind of cosmic rightness: two novas exploding together.

From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2018

There’s so much music in Berlin’s stories, from the “Cielito Lindo” guitar players of her youth to her own music: Buddy Holly, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, the bossa novas of Astrud Gilberto.

From New York Times ● Oct. 29, 2018

In the 1980s, Shara had predicted that novas, novalike systems and dwarf novas were the same stars in different stages of an eruption cycle.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 30, 2017

Arguments over the location of novas and comets in the heavens thus continued even after 1610, after which date the traditional Ptolemaic system was abandoned by all competent participants.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton



Vocabulary lists containing nova


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