: a characteristically anonymous, timeless, and placeless tale circulated orally among a people
Examples of folktale in a Sentence
West African folktales that continue to be passed from generation to generation through storytelling.
Recent Examples on the Web
Aladdin, a character from a Middle Eastern folktale, stumbles on an oil lamp that unleashes a powerful, larger-than-life genie who grants him three wishes.
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Sonal Jain, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Look at rumors, gossip, metaphors, euphemisms, folktales—all the means by which subordinate groups disguise their opposition.
—Nikil Saval, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
Everyone in the studio nods along to Paco’s tough-minded flexes and mafioso folktales.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 11 Apr. 2025
Interspersed in the narrative, there are South Asian folktales about a jackal who is punished for pretending to be a king and a foolish man who puts all his eggs in a basket.
—Malaka Gharib, NPR, 21 Mar. 2025
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Sonal Jain, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Look at rumors, gossip, metaphors, euphemisms, folktales—all the means by which subordinate groups disguise their opposition.
—Nikil Saval, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
Everyone in the studio nods along to Paco’s tough-minded flexes and mafioso folktales.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 11 Apr. 2025
Interspersed in the narrative, there are South Asian folktales about a jackal who is punished for pretending to be a king and a foolish man who puts all his eggs in a basket.
—Malaka Gharib, NPR, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for folktale
Cite this Entry
“Folktale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/folktale. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
folktale
noun
folk·tale
-ˌtāl 
: a story made up and handed down by the common people
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