Definition of apologuenext
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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for apologue
Noun
  • In her role as well as elsewhere, Kalle downplays the explicit homophobia that might have rendered this a more simplistic allegory, making Asla less a figure of interfering jealousy than a woman who simply doesn’t want to be abandoned yet again.
    Dennis Harvey, Variety, 26 July 2026
  • This Pulitzer-winning neo-slave narrative reimagines the Underground Railroad as a real subterranean network, in a Sisyphean allegory that illustrates the relentless metamorphoses of white supremacy and Black resistance.
    Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 22 July 2026
Noun
  • Mandela’s life and South Africa’s history should never be flattened into a corporate parable.
    Gerald J. Leonard, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • The pair’s mysterious interactions in the early chapters give way to a series of parables of doubt and belief, in which a rational character is confronted by an irrational event—and immediately convinced of its absolute truth.
    Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026
Noun
  • Here is the rather randy first trailer for Wicker, the comedic fable starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård and Peter Dinklage that debuted at Sundance in January.
    Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 30 July 2026
  • Many riders would have accepted taking a stage and the polka-dot jersey, but Carapaz’s fable is the paradigm of the man unafraid to fail.
    Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 26 July 2026
Noun
  • The tale begins with a successful novelist in late middle age boarding a train after a publishing event.
    Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Politicians in both parties often used tales of Medicaid fraud on the part of providers and recipients to justify tighter eligibility rules and spending cuts.
    Ben Zdencanovic, The Conversation, 3 Aug. 2026
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.

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“Apologue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apologue. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

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