stories

plural of story
1
as in tales
a work with imaginary characters and events that is shorter and usually less complex than a novel he's a talented writer, but his quirky stories will never find a wide readership

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2
as in anecdotes
a brief account of something interesting that happened especially to one personally Grandpa is always telling stories about what it was like growing up on a farm

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3
4
5
6
as in plots
the unfolding of events in a dramatic or literary work the story proceeds at a pace that many readers will find a bit too leisurely

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7
as in situations
position with regard to conditions and circumstances management is trying to figure out what the story is with the accident down in the warehouse

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of stories As a dad of two daughters, Murdy said he’s made a conscious effort to create strong female-centric original stories like KILLceañera for Horror Nights. Eve Chen, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026 The current building code typically allows a single staircase for residential buildings with three stories or less. Brian J. Rogal, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026 During their visit, the wife talked incessantly, sharing stories about their family members in great detail. R. Eric Thomas, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2026 Elwood’s conversations with CNN were peppered with alarming stories and punctuated by his broad, disarming laugh. Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026 Professional sports exist to tell stories, and those stories exist to sell things. Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 His approach combines research on neuroscience and productivity with personal experience and stories. John Hall, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026 At Khan & Kumar Media, we’re drawn to stories that resonate across cultures and borders, and ‘Forgotten Spaceman’ does exactly that. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 Aug. 2026 White began wondering whether stories like Phillips’ could be understood as their own declarations of independence. Reginald David, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stories
Noun
  • As is common with these tales of sliding doors, the narrative isn’t linear.
    Emmalee Reed, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Perhaps this saga of planetary conquest is also a sly commentary on Hollywood imperialism, in which even the most far-flung of small-town tales must be overwhelmed by big-name stars in visual-effects drag.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The anecdotes certainly are fun, but I was struck by the meat at the heart of it with its discussions of the politics — past and present — and on sexuality and race, and on the sometimes ruthless nature of building a national theater.
    Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Everyone and every place come supplied with a full quota of anecdotes and reminiscences.
    Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • One of the best actors working today, Coon essentially plays two different sides of Rita with astonishing range across these chronologies, portraying the past and the present of her character through distinctive markers.
    Tomris Laffly, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
  • And so those chronologies are really important for me in each one of these investigations.
    Terry Gross, NPR, 5 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • At a time when so much contemporary art jockeys to be spectacular, Op de Beeck’s whispers, both commanding and requiring your attention.
    Miles Socha, Footwear News, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The work on my set is like open-heart surgery, only in whispers, going straight for the essential and nothing else.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Trump’s 2020 election lies were promoted on several Fox News shows, including Bartiromo’s, and led to numerous defamation lawsuits.
    Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026
  • There’s an incident at a gun range where Ned’s fear of looking emasculated requires his army vet girlfriend to fall for his very dumb, very obvious lies.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Other rules, such as removing shoes and the 3-1-1 liquids policy, were implemented in response to later, separate terrorist plots.
    Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Food plots are great, agricultural crops are good too, but during the right window in mid-fall, nothing draws in deer like acorns.
    Colin Moore, Outdoor Life, 2 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Even the captions are becoming otherworldly, posing impossible situations.
    Owen Carry, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026
  • But Joshi says mental health care is often treated as an afterthought in disaster situations, and resources can get pulled before people have fully made sense of the trauma.
    Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • There have always been short books, some traditionally noted as novellas (20,000-40,000 words), yet not marketed as such.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The series currently encompasses nine sub-series arcs, standalone novels, novellas, English-language manga and graphic novels.
    Mya Copeland, Variety, 6 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Stories.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stories. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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