fable

noun

fa·ble | \ ˈfā-bəl

Definition of fable

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a fictitious narrative or statement: such as

a : a legendary story of supernatural happenings Minerva is in fables said, from Jove without a mother to proceed— Sir John Davies

b : a narration intended to enforce a useful truth especially : one in which animals speak and act like human beings The theme of the fable was the folly of human vanity.

c : falsehood, lie The story that he won the battle single-handedly is a mere fable.

fable

verb

fabled; fabling\ ˈfā-b(ə-)liŋ

Definition of fable (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

archaic : to tell fables

transitive verb

: to talk or write about as if true

Other Words from fable Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about fable

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Examples of fable in a Sentence

Noun

a fable about busy ants The story that he won the battle single-handedly is a mere fable. He combines fact and fable to make a more interesting story.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

What ensues is a hilarious blend of classic fables and modern-day criminal procedure, with many of the WCJC students tackling several roles - some of which require a flip-flop of traditional gender. — Houston Chronicle, "Wharton County Junior College Drama Department’s annual children’s production a comedy for all ages," 24 Apr. 2018 The bulk of the action is a longtime favorite fable an elderly man (Peter Falk) is reading to his grandson (Fred Savage), who starts out as a reluctant listener but gradually gets into the story. — Verge Staff, The Verge, "The Verge’s guide to tolerable family streaming entertainment," 21 Nov. 2018 Like the boiling frog fable, ISPs are likely to move slowly to minimize consumer backlash and negative media coverage. — Karl Bode, The Verge, "How the new AT&T could bully its way to streaming domination," 18 Dec. 2018 And the many people who learned about responsibility, duty, empathy, kindness, and selflessness from Lee’s plethora of heroes and fables wouldn’t be the same either. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "Stan Lee, the godfather of Marvel comics, dies at 95," 12 Nov. 2018 The production is intended as a fable of self-acceptance and non-conformity — not to mention, extreme physical fun versus passive digital addiction. — Misha Berson, The Seattle Times, "In Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Volta,’ acro-bicyclists soar and an aerialist hovers in the air by her hair," 18 Sep. 2018 There were, perhaps inevitably, copies of Lost Horizon lying around the hotel, and in the Shangri-La of that fable the inhabitants of the imaginary valley never grow old, or even ugly. — Lawrence Osborne, Town & Country, "Why Everyone Is Traveling to Bhutan," 30 Mar. 2015 Pinker cites an old Soviet fable — in which one peasant establishes equality with another by killing the other’s goat — to argue that promoting equality might harm those at the top rather help those at the bottom. — David Lay Williams, Washington Post, "What Steven Pinker gets wrong about economic inequality — and the Enlightenment," 11 Mar. 2018 Evangeline, the Queen of Make-Believe Grammy winner Gaby Moreno stars in this musical fable, with songs by Los Lobos' David Hidalgo and Louie Perez, about a young woman from 1960s East L.A. who finds her way to the Sunset Strip. — Matt Cooper, latimes.com, "The week ahead in L.A. theater, March 25-April 1: 'American Mariachi,' 'Bloodletting' and more," 25 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for fable

Noun

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Latin fābula "talk, gossip, account, tale, legend," from fā-, stem of for, fārī "to speak, say" + -bula, feminine derivative of -bulum, instrumental suffix (going back to Indo-European *-dhlom) — more at ban entry 1

Verb

Middle English fablen, borrowed from Anglo-French fabler, fableier, going back to Latin fābulārī "to talk, converse, invent a story," verbal derivative of fābula "talk, account, fable entry 1"

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