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
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fables
According to historical fables, yes.
—
Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 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
Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 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
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After their collaboration on The Lobster, director Yorgos Lanthimos cast Farrell in yet another of his symbolic, surreal allegories.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Over the past 20 years of Black List darlings and Edgar Wright rip-offs, the American film industry has established a new archetype of cinema filled with quippy antiheroes, gory allegories for domestic strife, and character actors rattling off reference humor.—
Sam Bodrojan,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Reporters retraced parts of the Oregon Trail, panned for gold in California and followed the myths and realities of Paul Revere's 1775 ride from Boston as the Redcoats moved in, among other travels that still resonate today.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Forces of good and evil collide in a terrifying film where real-world challenges crash headlong into other worldly creatures and myths.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There was a distinct set of tales dealing with demons who collected idle chatter in churches, and, over time, these stories were folded into the expanding legend of Tutivillus.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Oct. 2025
-
As is often the case with bifurcated tales unfolding between two distinct planes of existence, the characters in the Realm of the Spooks, also have their matching counterparts in Frankelda’s reality.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
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These parables sometimes read like gibberish, talking both down and up to the reader.—
Book Marks
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The advisory board will consist of up to two delegates from each club, including investors, cultural leaders and sports legends.—
Jessica Golden,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
-
As Drag Race viewers know, Plasma is a Broadway baby through and through, a Gay White Way devotee whose humor and style draws on legends like Barbra Streisand and Bernadette Peters.—
Joe Lynch,
Billboard,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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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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The event will feature stories from veterans and their families, patriotic music and updates from groups serving local veterans, such as the nonprofit Honor Flight and Patriot Guard.—
Linda Mcintosh,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Nov. 2025
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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,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fables.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fables. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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