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
The new Netflix documentary, released last week, tells the gruesome tale of Taylor Parker, who in 2020 faked a pregnancy, then murdered Reagan Simmons-Hancock to steal her unborn baby.
—
Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 18 June 2026
Australia exists as a highly cautionary tale about efforts to replace parenting with legislation.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
The three longtime friends, who live in adjoining apartments in South London, are about to release one of the year’s most gorgeous full-length debuts with Role Model Hermit (out July 3), a marvel of moody atmospherics, taut rhythms, and strange tales.
—Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 18 June 2026
In a 1996 analysis of the results, historian Carmel Quinlan observed that the tales collected revealed something strange about the stories people told.
—Amelia Soth, JSTOR Daily, 18 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for tale
Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 18 June 2026
Australia exists as a highly cautionary tale about efforts to replace parenting with legislation.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
The three longtime friends, who live in adjoining apartments in South London, are about to release one of the year’s most gorgeous full-length debuts with Role Model Hermit (out July 3), a marvel of moody atmospherics, taut rhythms, and strange tales.
—Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 18 June 2026
In a 1996 analysis of the results, historian Carmel Quinlan observed that the tales collected revealed something strange about the stories people told.
—Amelia Soth, JSTOR Daily, 18 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for tale
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tale
Noun
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Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
20 June 2026
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This is a developing story and will be updated.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
20 June 2026
Noun
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The lawsuit alleges that this was a lie and that neither of LeVota’s tax plans were created at the direction of the state.—
Ilana Arougheti
June 22,
Kansas City Star,
22 June 2026
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Well, the first principle to embrace is work-life balance is a lie.—
Fortune Editors,
Fortune,
22 June 2026
Noun
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The acclaimed Project Hail Mary is Amazon’s sci-fi spectacular, The Sheep Detectives is a mystery-comedy for kids and American author Don Winslow’s novella Crime 101 is its detective drama with Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Halle Berry in the lead roles.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
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The Norwegian writer Vigdis Hjorth creates a whole world in very few pages in this novella-length work in which even the pacing of the narrative itself does so much of the storytelling.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
Noun
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John Alite, 63, a councilman in Englishtown, NJ, was charged Friday with multiple counts of extortion, corporate misconduct and other charges, New Jersey's Attorney General said in a news release.—
Cara Tabachnick,
CBS News,
20 June 2026
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His father and grandfather are counts.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 June 2026
Noun
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Those whispers turned into roars in the bottom of the fifth inning when PCA sent a screamer down the first-base line and cruised into second for a double.—
Mark Harris OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
16 June 2026
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Supportive leaders use that higher vantage point to warn, way find, and whisper.—
Chip Bell,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
Noun
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Shortly after his election loss, Cornyn posted on social media a fable about a frog and a scorpion.—
Mary Clare Jalonick,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
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His latest, Rose of Nevada — which stars two name actors, Callum Turner and George MacKay, and opens in New York today after doing the festival rounds — has the beguiling simplicity of a fable and the captivating textures of a dream.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
19 June 2026
Noun
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The title almost conquers the Top Hard Rock Albums tally, but instead opens in second place.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
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The Tao people are one of Taiwan’s smaller indigenous groups, with a population of just 5,120, according to government tallies.—
Wayne Chang,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
Noun
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From a box-score perspective, Brind’Amour’s case ranks similarly to that of Rick Tocchet, Bill Guerin and Ray Whitney, who are all unlikely to be inducted given other sure-thing candidates about to retire around the league.—
James Mirtle,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
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Caitlin Clark put on a clinic Tuesday night, leading the Indiana Fever to a dominant 113-91 win over the Toronto Tempo -- a franchise so new that half the audience was probably doing a double take when the score appeared.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tale. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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