1
as in stories
a rumor or report of a personal or sensational nature
don't believe the tales you hear about our neighbor's kid
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in anecdotes
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in lies
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in novellas
a work with imaginary characters and events that is shorter and usually less complex than a novel
the oft-told tale of Sleeping Beauty
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tales
Wessels catches gleams to follow not only in magical tales but in twinkling memories, sparkling wordplay, the films of silver-screen star Veronica Lake, and his charm of a daughter, the inspiration of a half-dozen poems that take their titles from spells.
—
Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
Other folk tales trace them back to Noah's ark.
—Emily Feng, NPR, 1 Apr. 2026
Luc Besson, 129 minutes People can’t get enough of classic monsters lately with Lee Cronin’s upcoming The Mummy, last year’s Wolf Man, and multiple vampire tales, including Nosferatu and Radu Jude’s playful variation on Dracula.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Break out your finest suit and surveillance gear for these stylish espionage tales.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Mar. 2026
In front of them were younger generations of mothers and daughters, who’ll tell their own Summit tales three or four decades from now.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 29 Mar. 2026
Surfing has had a few great weavers of tales.
—Corky Carroll, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2026
Her best songs are her witty tales of romantic espionage in London after dark.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2026
Some of the essays are benign and well-documented; tales of her own neuroses, and her obsessions with the health of her father, Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm creator Larry David.
—Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2026
Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
Other folk tales trace them back to Noah's ark.
—Emily Feng, NPR, 1 Apr. 2026
Luc Besson, 129 minutes People can’t get enough of classic monsters lately with Lee Cronin’s upcoming The Mummy, last year’s Wolf Man, and multiple vampire tales, including Nosferatu and Radu Jude’s playful variation on Dracula.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Break out your finest suit and surveillance gear for these stylish espionage tales.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Mar. 2026
In front of them were younger generations of mothers and daughters, who’ll tell their own Summit tales three or four decades from now.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 29 Mar. 2026
Surfing has had a few great weavers of tales.
—Corky Carroll, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2026
Her best songs are her witty tales of romantic espionage in London after dark.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2026
Some of the essays are benign and well-documented; tales of her own neuroses, and her obsessions with the health of her father, Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm creator Larry David.
—Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tales
Noun
-
Often, this is a useful guideline, and limits, in general, are very much the friend of the fiction writer, but there are certain stories that benefit from a sense of instability.—
Nina Mesfin,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
-
As is common in the policing profession, officers and supervisors sometimes share experiences and stories for a variety of reasons.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The flip side is that 1 in 10 AI answers is wrong, and for Google, that means hundreds of thousands of lies going out every minute of the day.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
7 Apr. 2026
-
For years, Ye used his considerable celebrity to promote hate and violence against Jews, spreading antisemitic lies and stereotypes to his 33 million followers — more than twice the number of Jewish people alive today.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Stern has also published four collections of stories, four novellas, and two children’s books, all of them steeped in Jewish folklore.—
Cathleen Schine,
The New York Review of Books,
19 Mar. 2026
-
For reading widely, there’s discovery to be had among novellas, which thanks to their short length can get away with being weird and different.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Alexander William Schecter, 26, was charged with kidnapping to commit another crime, first-degree residential robbery, two counts of forcible oral copulation and forcible rape, all of which are felonies, according to a news release shared by the DA's Office.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
-
He was later charged with three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Behind every trauma and calamity, whether personal or global, whispers of Jewish machination can be heard by those already listening for them.—
Mike Rothschild,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
-
In this extraordinary moment, we're reminded that wisdom often comes in the smallest whispers, and true courage lies in following where we're led with childlike trust.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That’s led to a generation of kids being treated as Big Tech guinea pigs and falling student achievement scores.—
Abby McCloskey,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
-
All eight players competed in the first round, with the top four scores advancing to the semifinals and the two highest semifinal scores advancing to the final round.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Kings went into the break down 4-3, with five of those seven goals coming off turnovers and the other two being Toronto power-play tallies.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Burns has 11 tallies this season, joining Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom as the only defensemen in league history to notch double-digit goals at 40 or older.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tales. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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