Definition of old wives' tale
: an often traditional belief that is not based on fact : superstition
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Examples of old wives' tale in a Sentence
Frogs won't give you warts. That's just an old wives' tale.
the old wives' tale about the full moon causing people to act crazy
Recent Examples of old wives' tale from the Web
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Many doctors perceive the use of cod-liver oil for joint pain as an old wives' tale.
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When to Go to the Doctor Despite the old wives' tale, cranberry juice will not cure your UTI.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'old wives' tale.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of old wives' tale
1572
old wives' tale Synonyms
Synonyms
delusion, error, fallacy, falsehood, falsity, hallucination, illusion, misbelief, misconception, myth, untruth;
Related Words
fiction, pretense (or pretence);
distortion, inaccuracy, misapprehension, miscomprehension, misinterpretation, misjudgment, misperception, misunderstanding;
misinformation, misknowledge, misreport, misrepresentation, misstatement;
fib, half-truth, lie, story, tale;
OLD WIVES' TALE Defined for English Language Learners
old wives' tale
Definition of old wives' tale for English Language Learners
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: a common belief about something that is not based on facts and that is usually false
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