Synonyms of fables

fables

noun

plural of fable

1

as in allegories

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• allegories
• parables
• tales
• narratives
• apologues
• mythologies
• myths
• bestiaries
• legends
• beast fables
• morality plays

2

as in myths

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• myths
• legends
• tales
• stories
• allegories
• parables
• mythoi
• fictions
• fantasies
• narratives
• inventions
• sagas
• fabrications
• yarns
• figments

3

as in tales

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tales
• fictions
• stories
• fantasies
• inventions
• fabrications
• figments
• novels
• anecdotes
• narratives
• yarns
• falsehoods
• lies
• misrepresentations
• fairy tales
• falsities
• fibs
• prevarications
• untruths
• mendacities
• make-believe
• whoppers

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• facts
• realities
• materialities
• actualities

4

as in lies

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tales
• lies
• stories
• falsehoods
• fibs
• prevarications
• fabrications
• untruths
• fairy tales
• falsities
• whoppers
• mendacities
• fictions
• ambiguities
• distortions
• exaggerations
• half-truths
• taradiddles
• libels
• myths
• defamations
• slanders
• equivocations
• nonsense
• deceits
• obliquities
• fallacies
• perjuries
• pretenses
• misconceptions
• bluffs
• falsifications
• misrepresentations
• canards
• misstatements
• fraudulences
• misinformation
• poses
• duplicities
• dishonesties
• humbug
• jives
• misreports

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• truths
• facts
• verities
• truisms
• confirmations
• substantiations
• verifications
• validations
• honesties
• authentications
• veracities

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fables

Few eras of Greek history compare to the ancient times that the country has become so synonymous with—the cinematic fables of Odysseus, comic-book lore of Leonidas, and philosophic creeds of Socrates are ever-present in pop culture. — Shannon McMahon, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Sep. 2026

Likewise, Schoenbrun specializes in zeitgeisty fables about 21st century isolation. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026

Explore the Wild West from the back of a rickety wagon as characters share famed fables about Paul Bunyan, Babe the Blue Ox, Pecos Bill, John Henry and Hekeke. — Nicole Bennett, AJC.com, 10 July 2026

In 1964, Time, which then had a circulation of more than 3 million, ran a cover story on John Cheever, the author known for his dark fables of suburban malaise. — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026

My dad’s stories about his grade-school experience felt like dark fables, peppered with slurs hurled at him by classmates. — Rachel Tepper Paley, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026

The novel has a freewheeling spirit that recalls Italo Calvino’s space fables in Cosmicomics. — Literary Hub, 11 June 2026

The collection spans centuries of storytelling in multiple genres, from migratory fairytales with kings and princesses to legends of ghosts and the Devil to fables with talking animals. — Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 7 June 2026

Fortnum & Mason does not need a goose from Aesop’s fables to have a golden egg. — Air Mail, 4 Apr. 2026