1
as in allegory
a story intended to teach a basic truth or moral about life
this classic Christmas film is essentially a fable showing how every person's life has meaning and touches the lives of others
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2
as in myth
a traditional but unfounded story that gives the reason for a current custom, belief, or fact of nature
according to an ancient fable the waters of the mountain spring are the tears of a woman weeping for her lost children
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3
as in tale
something that is the product of the imagination
the stories of lost cities of gold may have been fables deliberately concocted by Native Americans to dupe the Spanish
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in lie
a statement known by its maker to be untrue and made in order to deceive
the fables that people tell themselves to rationalize their failures and shortcomings
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fable
The performance felt both virtuosic and repulsive, a goulash of hype, sloganeering, and calls to violence spiked with in-jokes, shaggy-dog anecdotes, and populist fables, all of it seductive and—in our dangerous era—familiar.
—
Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026
The brand collaborated with Shanghai Animation Film Studio, a cultural institution deeply embedded in collective memory, to reinterpret The Little Horse Crosses the River, a fable familiar to generations of Chinese audiences.
—Yiling Pan, Vogue, 17 Feb. 2026
When talking about their ending, Oppenheimer references the fable of the Scorpion and the Frog — Stephen, the scorpion, was always going to sting her.
—Samantha Highfill, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Feb. 2026
This poetic, interactive solo-theater piece blends fable and modern-day storytelling.
—Caroline Ritzie, Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fable
Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026
The brand collaborated with Shanghai Animation Film Studio, a cultural institution deeply embedded in collective memory, to reinterpret The Little Horse Crosses the River, a fable familiar to generations of Chinese audiences.
—Yiling Pan, Vogue, 17 Feb. 2026
When talking about their ending, Oppenheimer references the fable of the Scorpion and the Frog — Stephen, the scorpion, was always going to sting her.
—Samantha Highfill, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Feb. 2026
This poetic, interactive solo-theater piece blends fable and modern-day storytelling.
—Caroline Ritzie, Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fable
Noun
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These are tales of misplacement and metamorphosis — humans as beasts, beasts as allegories.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026
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The horror film serves as a gory allegory for the evils that persisted in the South in the Jim Crow era in the late 19th century and onward.—
Yi-Jin Yu,
ABC News,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In that sense, Chinatown carries its own poetic legacy, the myth that deserves to endure.—
Xuan Juliana Wang,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
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With music, lyrics and book by Anaïs Mitchell, Hadestown reimagines the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in a post-apocalyptic setting inspired by the Great Depression and New Orleans.—
Sigal Ratner-Arias,
Billboard,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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This spiritual sequel to ‘Frankenstein’ is a romantic tale of obsession, possession and fantasy — adjectives that also apply to its filmmaker, Maggie Gyllenhaal, who expends massive quantities of energy jolting it to life.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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The romantic tale, of one kind of choice, is nested in a dramatic frame, of another choice, that’s at once local and international.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Sanity becomes compromise, evasion, a lie.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
7 Mar. 2026
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Except, of course, that’s a lie — a keypad is capable of nothing on its own.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Coogan was poking fun at tech companies’ impulse to name themselves after myths and parables, even when those myths and cultural artifacts have negative associations.—
Diego Lasarte,
New Yorker,
25 Feb. 2026
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Plato’s prescient understanding of ICE agents arose during a discussion of the parable of the Ring of Gyges.—
Paul Rosenzweig,
Washington Post,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Even the legends eventually pack their bags.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 Mar. 2026
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In Takeover — which hits theaters May 8 — the Migos rapper plays Guy Miller, a former street racing legend who’s looking to change his life around after spending some time in prison.—
Angel Diaz,
Billboard,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning author of fiction.—
Lilliam Rivera,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
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While this may confine a human’s dream of immortality to solutions that rely on technological enhancements, bio-hacking your body, or science-fiction level technology that relies on novel physical laws and/or phenomena, there’s still plenty that relativity has to say about living forever.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Like mentioned previously, the staff felt incredibly in touch with the guests of the 50-story hotel, creating a personalized experience that is a feat for the size of the hotel.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 Mar. 2026
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The full text for this story was provided via a press release from Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.—
Cincinnati Enquirer,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fable. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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