as in allegory
a story intended to teach a basic truth or moral about life the film is an apologue of sorts, but the message is couched in a zany and action-filled plot

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for apologue
Noun
  • Through dialogue, Reason, Rectitude, and Justice help Christine construct the physical form of the sanctuary city while arguing through allegory against the misogyny entrenched in French society and literature.
    Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 23 Sep. 2025
  • Virgo’s film takes that premise and reimagines it as a twisty psychological allegory, laden with weighty themes.
    Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 23 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The parable of the Good Samaritan is Jesus specifically rejecting the idea of limiting compassion to one’s own group.
    John Fugelsang September 12, Literary Hub, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Throughout, in interviews with Costa, Malafaia justifies his political aspiration with Biblical parables.
    Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • 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
Noun
  • Shot in location across Scotland, Grow is billed as an exuberant tale full of giant pumpkins, madcap characters and a little girl who just might be a pumpkin-growing savant.
    Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 22 Sep. 2025
  • As in all magical realism tales, these house spirits are an unquestioned part of the family’s reality, so Nora puts these handy men to work fixing up their home, if not their lives.
    Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Sep. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Apologue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apologue. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!