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
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fables
Geminis have a tendency to speak of fables to protect themselves or to make their lives seem more fulfilling.
—
Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 15 Dec. 2025
His movies — farces, fables, experiments — reside in surreal worlds of their own.
—Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
Will there be fables about musical sand dunes on Mars?
—Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Gossip fed the frenzy of the Salem Witch Trials and has been the subtext of one too many fables where mischief masks moral rot.
—Oriel Feldmanhall, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
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
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
Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 15 Dec. 2025
His movies — farces, fables, experiments — reside in surreal worlds of their own.
—Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
Will there be fables about musical sand dunes on Mars?
—Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Gossip fed the frenzy of the Salem Witch Trials and has been the subtext of one too many fables where mischief masks moral rot.
—Oriel Feldmanhall, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fables
Noun
-
In these allegories of dehumanization, greed, and hope, Marshall takes an unvarnished view of his subjects, one that doesn’t sugarcoat the past or succumb to nostalgia for a mythical, precolonial Golden Age.—
James Meyer,
Artforum,
1 Jan. 2026
-
Part of a long tradition of both David and Goliath adaptations and illustrated renditions of Judeo-Christian allegories, the new musical drama is Angel Studio’s latest take on the iconic underdog story and a wholesome way to spend your afternoon.—
Elaina Patton,
IndieWire,
22 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
She is revered in those regions, and oral tradition keeps her myths alive.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
-
One year before Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire published their compendium of Greek myths, Cicellis released her second work of fiction, The Way to Colonos, which ruthlessly dramatizes the limits of individual freedom and the agony of facing one’s powerlessness.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
The Atlantic,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Immigration tales tend to adopt a hybrid form—part elegy for life in the home country, part hymn to the promise of the new.—
Tope Folarin,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The rest will fade into irrelevance — remembered not for their art or innovation, but as cautionary tales of what happens when inclusion becomes optional.—
Kimberly S. Reed,
Rolling Stone,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Directly underneath lies an open-air beach club with fold-down platforms that open to create roughly 645 square feet of space suspended above the water.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
4 Nov. 2025
-
The lies are transparent and unapologetic.—
Shadi Hamid,
Time,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Discerning viewers flock to the Greek filmmaker’s parables about family dynamics and power struggles to marinate in his deadpan humor, his aloof and somewhat anthropological look at human behavior, and the sight of Emma Stone inevitably doing something odd.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
-
These parables sometimes read like gibberish, talking both down and up to the reader.—
Book Marks
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Marwan Hamed and Yousry Nasrallah Two legends of Egyptian cinema, filmmaker Marwan Hamed, whose works are celebrated in IFFR’s 2026 retrospective, and director Yousry Nasrallah will discuss Hamed’s biopic El Sett (IFFR 2026) as well as highlights from their filmmaking careers.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Stingray's clue package mentioned their mom would host parties attended by music legends like Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Worries about fictions created by artificial intelligence used to prepare legal documents have plagued the legal community for the past few years, as the public’s infatuation with the generative technology has grown.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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This isn’t just shot in black-and-white, thus resembling the 1960 meta-commentary on American crime thrillers and pulp fictions in all its monochromatic glory.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.—
Data Skrive,
New York Times,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Below, Dyens and Miailhe speak to Deadline about the importance of unearthing human stories amid the tragedy of the World War II era.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fables.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fables. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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