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
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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
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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
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fable
Gossip fed the frenzy of the Salem Witch Trials and has been the subtext of one too many fables where mischief masks moral rot.
—
Oriel Feldmanhall, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
Nonetheless, Lloyd's production is handsomely realized, with striking silhouetttes courtesy of Jon Clark and unnerving sound design by Ben and Max Ringham, who add a low whirr of dread to the existential fable.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 29 Sep. 2025
The Master is the greatest of them all, a movie peopled by characters who are at once intensely human and also the stuff of otherworldly fables.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
After outlining that corrupt deal, Du Bois dissects how scholarship sympathetic to the northern interests then rewrote Reconstruction’s history, turning the period into a fable of failure while caricaturing Black political leadership and widespread democratic participation.
—Zephyr Teachout, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fable
Oriel Feldmanhall, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
Nonetheless, Lloyd's production is handsomely realized, with striking silhouetttes courtesy of Jon Clark and unnerving sound design by Ben and Max Ringham, who add a low whirr of dread to the existential fable.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 29 Sep. 2025
The Master is the greatest of them all, a movie peopled by characters who are at once intensely human and also the stuff of otherworldly fables.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
After outlining that corrupt deal, Du Bois dissects how scholarship sympathetic to the northern interests then rewrote Reconstruction’s history, turning the period into a fable of failure while caricaturing Black political leadership and widespread democratic participation.
—Zephyr Teachout, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fable
Noun
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Blending dark comedy, drama, and suspense, His Weakest Creatures is billed as a sharp allegory of love, survival, and moral compromise, culminating in an unexpected finale.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
4 Nov. 2025
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After their collaboration on The Lobster, director Yorgos Lanthimos cast Farrell in yet another of his symbolic, surreal allegories.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Foundation Rock also highlights her relationship with other protective deities, consistently linking her power to myths and the spiritual undertone of water.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Oct. 2025
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Pitting vengeful ghosts against a backdrop of a supernatural love story, the film charmingly plays with genre to question how history and myth can probe collective and socio-political grief.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This funny tale of unlikely heroism can be enjoyed either as a read-aloud or as a confidence booster for newly independent readers.—
Caroline Carlson,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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The tale away from the playing field in recent years has been dizzying, one of soaring costs and debts, of quirks and chicanery unseen elsewhere.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The lie that began James’s reign would have far-reaching consequences.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
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Directly underneath lies an open-air beach club with fold-down platforms that open to create roughly 645 square feet of space suspended above the water.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Frankenstein is the purest of parables—working both as a straight narrative and as a symbolic one.—
Guillermo del Toro,
The Atlantic,
24 Oct. 2025
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Discerning viewers flock to the Greek filmmaker’s parables about family dynamics and power struggles to marinate in his deadpan humor, his aloof and somewhat anthropological look at human behavior, and the sight of Emma Stone inevitably doing something odd.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Heart of the Ocean may be fictional, but its legend feels real—modeled loosely on the Hope Diamond.—
Lilah Ramzi,
Vogue,
25 Oct. 2025
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That’s football, even legends come and go.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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However, Herneval’s extravagant kingdom, the Topus Terrentus, is at risk of disappearing because people in the real world are no longer afraid of fiction.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
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This isn’t just shot in black-and-white, thus resembling the 1960 meta-commentary on American crime thrillers and pulp fictions in all its monochromatic glory.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The real story of the Elizabethan succession was altogether darker and more turbulent than Camden’s fiction.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
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This is the web version of Fortune Tech, a daily newsletter breaking down the biggest players and stories shaping the future.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fable. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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