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
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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
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3
as in fictions
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 tales
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 fables
Modern horror is at the forefront of political movements and are the fables of our time.
—
American Booksellers Association, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
Allusions to myths, fables, and riffs on common idioms abound, many of them evocative and quite funny.
—Lora Kelley, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2025
American Booksellers Association, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
Allusions to myths, fables, and riffs on common idioms abound, many of them evocative and quite funny.
—Lora Kelley, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fables
Noun
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The Terror from Beyond Space served up slimy green men and Red Scare allegories, the period covered by Baron abounds with optimism and wonder.—
David Kamp,
Air Mail,
23 Aug. 2025
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Trans allegories abound in horror fiction, but vampires just might be the hottest one of all.—
Samantha Allen,
Them.,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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While most technology leaders have done their fair share to dispel these myths in favor of AI’s transformative potential, concerns of misinformation, security vulnerabilities and unpredictability still hum beneath the unstoppable swell of AI innovation.—
Monish Darda,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Without clear evidence, myths persist — and athletes hesitate.—
Starre Vartan,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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It is rooted in the dehumanizing language and convenient fictions that precede acts of violence.—
Brad Braxton,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Sep. 2025
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Paranoia-inducing fictions like Wells’s aside, the public came to view Martians not as monsters but as representatives of a higher civilization—as angels, even, at a time when new science was shaking old religious certainties.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Their empires cracked, their shadows receded, and their names faded into cautionary tales.—
John Hope Bryant,
Time,
6 Sep. 2025
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The mysterious spirit animal messengers that Ji-noo sends, a tiger and a magpie who represent the nobles and commoners of many Korean folk tales, needed to be otherworldly without being fully demonic.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Three obvious choices to assist with the design are Eddie Sotto, Tom Morris and Jim Shull who are all Imagineering legends with decades of experience.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Sports legends, including Michael Jordan, Lawrence Taylor, and Randy Moss, attended the game, cheering exuberantly after UNC took a 7-0 lead with an opening drive touchdown.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Other big stories ➤ The median rent on a one-bedroom Phoenix-area apartment is falling after the region led the nation in price increases in 2021.—
Lorenzino Estrada,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Randy Tucker Many of you have read the name PLK Communities in my stories about the team of developers behind the controversial Hyde Park Square redevelopment plan.—
Randy Tucker,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Our family has been ruined by Denise's lies of promising to end a year-long affair.—
Liza Esquibias,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
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It is entirely based on Hamas’s campaign of lies and the laundering of those lies by others.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Season 2 once again explores the consequences of turning fantasies into reality in suburban Britain.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
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From cozy, whimsical fantasies to historical fiction and horror, this guide to August’s brightest new releases has something for everyone.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
31 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fables.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fables. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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