Synonyms of fable

fable

noun

ˈfā-bəl 

1

as in allegory

a story intended to teach a basic truth or moral about life

this classic Christmas film is essentially a fable showing how every person's life has meaning and touches the lives of others

Synonyms & Similar Words

• allegory
• parable
• tale
• apologue
• narrative
• mythology
• myth
• bestiary
• beast fable
• legend
• morality play

2

as in myth

a traditional but unfounded story that gives the reason for a current custom, belief, or fact of nature

according to an ancient fable the waters of the mountain spring are the tears of a woman weeping for her lost children

Synonyms & Similar Words

• myth
• legend
• tale
• story
• allegory
• mythos
• parable
• fiction
• narrative
• fantasy
• invention
• fabrication
• saga
• yarn
• figment

3

as in tale

something that is the product of the imagination

the stories of lost cities of gold may have been fables deliberately concocted by Native Americans to dupe the Spanish

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tale
• fiction
• story
• fantasy
• invention
• fabrication
• novel
• figment
• narrative
• anecdote
• yarn
• lie
• misrepresentation
• fairy tale
• falsehood
• untruth
• prevarication
• falsity
• mendacity
• fib
• whopper
• make-believe

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fact
• reality
• materiality
• actuality
• realness

4

as in lie

a statement known by its maker to be untrue and made in order to deceive

the fables that people tell themselves to rationalize their failures and shortcomings

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tale
• lie
• story
• fairy tale
• falsehood
• fabrication
• mendacity
• untruth
• prevarication
• falsity
• fiction
• fib
• whopper
• taradiddle
• ambiguity
• exaggeration
• distortion
• myth
• nonsense
• libel
• defamation
• slander
• obliquity
• half-truth
• fraudulence
• equivocation
• deceit
• perjury
• bluff
• fallacy
• misrepresentation
• canard
• pose
• misconception
• misstatement
• misinformation
• pretense
• duplicity
• humbug
• falsification
• dishonesty
• jive
• deceitfulness
• misreport

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• truth
• fact
• truism
• truthfulness
• honesty
• veracity
• confirmation
• verification
• validation
• verity
• authentication
• substantiation

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fable

Stapley adds, invoking the fable of the scorpion and the frog. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2026

Likewise, Schoenbrun specializes in zeitgeisty fables about 21st century isolation. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026

Here is the rather randy first trailer for Wicker, the comedic fable starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård and Peter Dinklage that debuted at Sundance in January. — Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 30 July 2026

Despite these complications, Terrace Story delivers a brilliant contemporary fable that chronicles how young people stuck in the saddest timeline can still make meaning. — Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026