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
At the time, plenty of commentators treated Juicero as a morality tale.
—
Big Think, 1 May 2026
Cornelia has a bottomless stock of these sorts of stories; tales of her dad’s imprint and their reverberations.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 1 May 2026
The company still looks for unique characters, worlds that viewers may not regularly experience and stories that offer something more than just a tale well told.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 30 Apr. 2026
Hayes said that there are many old wives tales about how to remove a tick, including drowning them in vaseline, putting alcohol on them, burning them off with a lighter, painting them with nail polish and more.
—Charlotte Observer, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tale
Big Think, 1 May 2026
Cornelia has a bottomless stock of these sorts of stories; tales of her dad’s imprint and their reverberations.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 1 May 2026
The company still looks for unique characters, worlds that viewers may not regularly experience and stories that offer something more than just a tale well told.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 30 Apr. 2026
Hayes said that there are many old wives tales about how to remove a tick, including drowning them in vaseline, putting alcohol on them, burning them off with a lighter, painting them with nail polish and more.
—Charlotte Observer, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tale
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tale
Noun
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Made in response to a difficult breakup, the work alludes to two lovers parting ways, but also to Pau’s memories of isolation as a severely asthmatic child in a notoriously polluted city, lying in bed staring at the wall and inventing stories to distract herself from the difficulty of breathing.—
Pauline J. Yao,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
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The $30 million, 28-story towers contained 3,000 rooms, an 18-hole rooftop miniature golf course complete with sand traps and its own hospital.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
2 May 2026
Noun
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The point was to conform language to lies, to narrow the range of thought, to obscure the truth, and, over time, to get people to believe in illusions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
-
There were no lies told about this team’s postseason prowess.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Hellraiser franchise, based on Clive Barker’s 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart, includes 11 movies, with the most recent being released in 2022.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
3 May 2026
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The structural problems reveal themselves early, as the revolution that defined Orwell’s novella is dispatched by minute 6.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Those alleged entries to ChatGPT, included in court documents charging Abugharbieh with two counts of first-degree murder, are just the latest instance of investigators using AI chat histories as evidence in criminal investigations.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
2 May 2026
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With two outs in the first inning and runners on first and second, Sheehan worked ahead to an 0-2 count against Nolan Gorman.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
2 May 2026
Noun
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Of course, this being DC and the WHCD, there are always whispers and smoke.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
25 Apr. 2026
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In Islamabad, the almost indecipherable whisper of leaks has turned to crickets.—
Nic Robertson,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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That Niall finds Ruben so alluring is natural to Gadd, who believes the notion of a valiant male figure has been bred into everyone via fables and fairy tales.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
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On Friday, April 10, when those winged sprites took to the War Memorial Opera House stage for a seven-performance run, the whole tartan-and-gossamer fable felt more alive than ever.—
Rachel Howard,
San Francisco Chronicle,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
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There is no official tally, but one estimate reported by The Wall Street Journal suggests that roughly half of the nearly 1,000 drone attacks on Saudi Arabia originated from Iraq.—
Alaa Shahine Salha,
semafor.com,
30 Apr. 2026
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Well over 200 journalists and media workers have been killed according to a tally from the Committee to Protect Journalists organization, far more than in conflicts elsewhere like the Russia-Ukraine war.—
Deepti Hajela,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The ball slid right underneath his glove, allowing two runs to score, and Semien to end up at second.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
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Richter came to the plate in the top of the sixth with one out and the score tied 2-2.—
Tony Baranek,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tale. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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