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
Damann takes guests to the visitor center which has its own fish tales to tell.
—
John Lauritsen, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2026
His plays — rife with explorations of deep humanity and emotion — provide not just a framework for hanging many different worlds upon his words, but also the kind of complex characters and twisted tales that actors and filmmakers crave, whether tragedy, romance or comedy.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
These are films that reflect the human condition through inspirational tales of struggle, tragic true stories, life-threatening conflicts, and intimate psychological portraits.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Apr. 2026
These larger-than-life tales grew harder to tolerate, Barnes said.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 8 Apr. 2026
The less satisfying of these two tales is rooted in 1969.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 7 Apr. 2026
The Shatter Me series — comprised of six main novels plus supplemental tales — has over a four-star average rating on Goodreads, out of more than 5 million total ratings.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 6 Apr. 2026
Even tales as old as time need to get told a different way every once in a while.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 5 Apr. 2026
Ammonia damaged the paper preserving ancient chronicles (letopisi) of tales that served the needs of princes and priests at the expense of those beneath them or at their throats.
—Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
John Lauritsen, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2026
His plays — rife with explorations of deep humanity and emotion — provide not just a framework for hanging many different worlds upon his words, but also the kind of complex characters and twisted tales that actors and filmmakers crave, whether tragedy, romance or comedy.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
These are films that reflect the human condition through inspirational tales of struggle, tragic true stories, life-threatening conflicts, and intimate psychological portraits.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Apr. 2026
These larger-than-life tales grew harder to tolerate, Barnes said.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 8 Apr. 2026
The less satisfying of these two tales is rooted in 1969.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 7 Apr. 2026
The Shatter Me series — comprised of six main novels plus supplemental tales — has over a four-star average rating on Goodreads, out of more than 5 million total ratings.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 6 Apr. 2026
Even tales as old as time need to get told a different way every once in a while.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 5 Apr. 2026
Ammonia damaged the paper preserving ancient chronicles (letopisi) of tales that served the needs of princes and priests at the expense of those beneath them or at their throats.
—Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 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 12 Apr. 2026.
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