Synonyms of tales

tales

noun

plural of tale

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

• stories
• whispers
• canards
• gossip
• talks
• fables
• lies
• scuttlebutt
• libels
• slanders
• tattles
• hearsay
• defamations
• dirty laundry
• dirt
• fibs
• falsehoods
• fairy tales
• prevarications
• talebearings
• fabrications
• untruths
• mendacities
• whoppers
• falsities

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

• stories
• anecdotes
• yarns
• incidents
• episodes
• occurrences
• events
• happenings
• recitations
• recitals

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

• stories
• lies
• fables
• fibs
• fairy tales
• falsehoods
• prevarications
• fabrications
• untruths
• whoppers
• falsities
• mendacities
• ambiguities
• fictions
• distortions
• exaggerations
• half-truths
• taradiddles
• libels
• myths
• defamations
• slanders
• equivocations
• obliquities
• deceits
• nonsense
• perjuries
• misconceptions
• bluffs
• fallacies
• pretenses
• poses
• misinformation
• misrepresentations
• fraudulences
• misstatements
• duplicities
• falsifications
• canards
• dishonesties
• humbug
• jives
• misreports

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• truths
• facts
• verities
• truisms
• confirmations
• substantiations
• verifications
• validations
• honesties
• authentications
• veracities

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

• stories
• novellas
• narratives
• yarns
• short stories
• histories
• fables
• anecdotes
• jokes
• myths
• novelettes
• legends
• romances
• parables
• records
• annals
• reports
• folktales
• fairy tales
• chronicles
• exempla
• bedtime stories
• accounts

5

as in counts

a total number obtained or recorded by noting each thing as it was being added

when the tale of the dead from the disaster is announced, the city will be in shock

Synonyms & Similar Words

• counts
• scores
• tallies
• censuses
• amounts
• recounts
• totals
• sums
• wholes
• grosses

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tales

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

Just as their own fictions bend and weave tales, so too do their own lives and rivalries. — Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026

In forums on Reddit, women share tales of having perimenopause and menopause symptoms misdiagnosed or dismissed as mental health disorders, early-onset dementia, or autoimmune issues, resulting in months or years of unnecessary testing. — Yulin Hswen, STAT, 27 Aug. 2026

Vedder’s elliptical tales of adolescent trauma were a perfect fit with music that blended classic-rock tropes (especially McCready’s solos) with punk energy, grunge guitar tones and the groove-heavy vibe of early-Nineties alt-rock. — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026

It had been left empty for more than a decade, and the property had become the subject of local ghost stories and tall tales. — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 22 Aug. 2026

The second book, Shift, consists of alternating flashback sequences, telling both the origin story of the silos and tales from past rebellions. — Noel Murray, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026

The two dashing newcomers have since been regaling the Georgia Aquarium’s existing belugas, a quartet of females*, with tales of their peregrinations. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Aug. 2026