as in tales
a traditional description of imaginary events circulated orally among a people
West African folktales that continue to be passed from generation to generation through storytelling
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Recent Examples of folktales
Below, see the streamer’s list of authors to watch, from contemporary folktales and family dramas to dark fantasy and spicy time travel tales.
—
Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 3 Dec. 2025
The company is also tapping into Asia’s rich pipeline of source material, from webtoons and web novels to traditional literature and folktales.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 Nov. 2025
To keep her on track, Hero tells Cherry stories each night, loosely adapting the framework of the classic collection of Arabic folktales One Thousand and One Nights.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2025
Atmospheric principles and folktales, spirit and substance, opposites and inversions.
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
The story centered on a young Palestinian man living in Jerusalem who must save his family after a Ghouleh, a female demon from his grandmother’s folktales, arrive in his town and threatens his home.
—Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, Freudians and evolutionary psychologists trawled folktales for evidence to shore up their theories.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Later, the look became incorporated in folktales as the attire of grim reapers.
—Claire Wang, NBC news, 12 Oct. 2025
Hovering blue flames that flicker over bogs and marshes have inspired ghostly folktales for centuries.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 3 Dec. 2025
The company is also tapping into Asia’s rich pipeline of source material, from webtoons and web novels to traditional literature and folktales.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 Nov. 2025
To keep her on track, Hero tells Cherry stories each night, loosely adapting the framework of the classic collection of Arabic folktales One Thousand and One Nights.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2025
Atmospheric principles and folktales, spirit and substance, opposites and inversions.
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
The story centered on a young Palestinian man living in Jerusalem who must save his family after a Ghouleh, a female demon from his grandmother’s folktales, arrive in his town and threatens his home.
—Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, Freudians and evolutionary psychologists trawled folktales for evidence to shore up their theories.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Later, the look became incorporated in folktales as the attire of grim reapers.
—Claire Wang, NBC news, 12 Oct. 2025
Hovering blue flames that flicker over bogs and marshes have inspired ghostly folktales for centuries.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for folktales
Noun
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
Noun
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She is revered in those regions, and oral tradition keeps her myths alive.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
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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
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The killing immediately drew dueling narratives.—
Matt Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
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The killing immediately drew dueling narratives.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Jan. 2026
Noun
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More effective is Oldroyd’s patience in establishing Jack and Anna’s histories with the murder victim, Rachel Hopkins (Jamie Tisdale).—
Judy Berman,
Time,
8 Jan. 2026
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These regular observations will gradually take in data and aim to provide pivotal information about the strengths, compositions, and histories of these primitive cosmic bodies.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Suddenly though, Artemis had to cut off this fling, because gods and goddesses were not supposed to have romances with mortals.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
11 Jan. 2026
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Since the Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart — which was inspired by Janette Oke’s bestselling book series Canadian West — first debuted in 2014, multiple romances have blossomed on set.—
Alexandra Hurtado,
PEOPLE,
11 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Folktales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/folktales. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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