1
as in story
a rumor or report of a personal or sensational nature
don't believe the tales you hear about our neighbor's kid
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2
as in anecdote
a brief account of something interesting that happened especially to one personally
asked Dad to tell once again the tale of how, as a kid, he broke his arm jumping out of a tree
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3
as in lie
a statement known by its maker to be untrue and made in order to deceive
told tall tales in an attempt to impress me with her supposedly upper-crust background
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in novella
a work with imaginary characters and events that is shorter and usually less complex than a novel
the oft-told tale of Sleeping Beauty
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tale
Monica doubts this highbrow Brit is capable of understanding Reggie’s rags-to-riches-to-infamy tale.
—
Judy Berman, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
But the latest twist in the sorry tale has raised questions as to whether the royals have the full and wholehearted support and cooperation of the nation.
—Jamie Timson, TheWeek, 20 Feb. 2026
Protégés of Guillermo del Toro, whose Netflix stop-motion animation Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio won the Oscar for Best Animation in 2024, the Ambriz brothers’ film is set in 19th-century Mexico and tells the story of Frankelda, a gifted writer whose dark tales are ignored and dismissed.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2026
While the story takes place in contemporary times, some of the characters have extraordinary gifts and tell tall tales of a world beyond the realm of most people.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 19 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tale
Judy Berman, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
But the latest twist in the sorry tale has raised questions as to whether the royals have the full and wholehearted support and cooperation of the nation.
—Jamie Timson, TheWeek, 20 Feb. 2026
Protégés of Guillermo del Toro, whose Netflix stop-motion animation Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio won the Oscar for Best Animation in 2024, the Ambriz brothers’ film is set in 19th-century Mexico and tells the story of Frankelda, a gifted writer whose dark tales are ignored and dismissed.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2026
While the story takes place in contemporary times, some of the characters have extraordinary gifts and tell tall tales of a world beyond the realm of most people.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 19 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tale
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tale
Noun
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Elsewhere, stories of economic gloom – from galloping inflation to restaurant closures and the knock-on impact of severe tax increases – describe the many ways in which the prolonged war in Ukraine is now hitting Russians hard in the pocket at home.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
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Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Chickering adds that under its new owners, TikTok has more control over what shows up on American feeds, but this control, according to Chickering, is where TikTok’s opportunity - and risk - lies.—
Matthew Chin,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2026
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Malliotakis has a history of spreading misleading information and incendiary lies tying immigrants to crimes, despite data showing immigrants commit crimes at far lower rates than others.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Adapting and expanding upon a lean Don Winslow novella, Layton adds many sometimes unnecessarily complex ingredients to the pot, with characters intersecting and allegiances and motivations often contradicting one another.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2026
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The Little Prince is an adaption of the beloved 1943 novella by the French author and artist Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Zelensky reminded the audience that every Ukrainian power plant had been hit, and that every kilometer Russia seized cost them 156 lives, by Ukraine’s count.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
15 Feb. 2026
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Radtke took a plea deal, agreeing to plead guilty to three misdemeanor counts of theft of government property.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The footage also shows an unknown male whisper into the suspect’s ear, a court affidavit explaining the charges said.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
17 Feb. 2026
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The recent whispers were inspired by a resurfaced Comic-Con clip in which Claffey's 11-year-old costar, Dexter Sol Ansell, appears to confirm that the former Superman actor will appear in season 2 of AKOTSK.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The brand collaborated with Shanghai Animation Film Studio, a cultural institution deeply embedded in collective memory, to reinterpret The Little Horse Crosses the River, a fable familiar to generations of Chinese audiences.—
Yiling Pan,
Vogue,
17 Feb. 2026
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When talking about their ending, Oppenheimer references the fable of the Scorpion and the Frog — Stephen, the scorpion, was always going to sting her.—
Samantha Highfill,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Since then, more than 400 people have been released, according to rights group Foro Penal, though the tally lags official claims of over 800.—
Alessandra Freitas,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
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Mayoral press conferences and news releases began to include a running tally of involuntary transportations—an acknowledgment, perhaps, of some outer limit to the power of asking nicely from a screen.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Also on Tuesday, Indivisible CT is conducting an anti-ICE rally on the state Capitol lawn, taking political aim at a federal agency that has fallen sharply out of public favor after killing two American citizens in Minnesota and roughing up scores of others.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
17 Feb. 2026
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Canada dominated most of the game, but Great Britain caught up and briefly evened out the scores before falling behind again.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tale. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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