fable

noun

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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 Phrases Containing fable Learn More About fable

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 The movie is a fable of winning, of beating the house every time, without much of a dark side. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 June 2022 This film is an anti-war fable that talks about the common origin of all wars. — Holly Jones, Variety, 13 June 2022 What follows is a fantastical fable of love and suffering, imprisonment and release, mythology and the material world. — New York Times, 23 May 2022 Elem Klimov’s heart-rending 1985 antiwar fable, about a Soviet youth who joins the fight against the Nazis, screens as a benefit for families affected by the current crisis in Ukraine. — Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2022 Screenwriter Anna Symon and director Clio Barnard are translating Sarah Perry’s lush Victorian fable into an evocative six-part series starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston. — Radhika Seth, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2022 This performance will be an attempt to combine all 209 fairy tales into one cohesive fable, brought to life by two narrators and a team of actors. — Naomi Stock, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Apr. 2022 The history of a movement, narrated as a documentary fable. — Lise Pedersen, Variety, 1 Mar. 2022 Then about 20 years ago, along comes architect and historian John Crandell, who plumbed contemporary accounts to show that the Wyman fable was not true. — Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Arrebato 4K restoration of Spanish filmmaker Iván Zulueta‘s hallucinatory 1980 horror fable about a director and a heroin addict. — Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2021 See More

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 *-d^hlom) — 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"