OLD WIVES' TALES Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

old wives' tales

noun

plural of old wives' tale

as in errors

a false idea or belief the belief that going outside with wet hair will cause you to catch cold is just an old wives' tale

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for old wives' tales

Noun

Tellingly, the network seemed to know the difference in its official response, acknowledging that the original piece contained errors.

— Max Tani, semafor.com, 12 Oct. 2026
And his stellar defense led the way — 13 outfield assists and no errors in 1,106 innings.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of errors

Noun

The Delphic oracle was not a myth Amid the myths and fiction of ancient Greece, the Delphic oracle was very much a historical fact.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Oct. 2026
So immigration stories get softened over time, with trauma turning into adventure and hard facts blurred into entertaining myths.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of myths

Noun

But a line like that also fleshes out the head-in-the-stratosphere delusions of everyone here.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026
The company has also been sued by the parents of kids who took their own lives, alleging that ChatGPT encouraged suicide and harmful delusions.

— James Peckham, PC Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of delusions

Noun

When the team built a setup to directly quantify real-time heat flux alongside electrical output, the theoretical illusions collapsed.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026
The myth goes back 2,000 years and holds that the Parthenon, which sits on the Acropolis overlooking Athens, was intentionally constructed with curves to correct various visual illusions and thus appear straight to the human eye.

— Ann Scott Tyson, Christian Science Monitor, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of illusions

Noun

American Horror Story is officially back for its 13th season — and so are many of the franchise’s most memorable characters, with a plethora of superstitions to come.

— Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2026
The whatever that locked life in the truths of biology, chemistry, physics, far from the hysteria and superstitions of her heart, her family, history.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of superstitions

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

old wives' tale

old wives' tales

old-world

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Old wives' tales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/old%20wives%27%20tales. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of old wives' tales

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

deportment

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes