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
• ambiguities
• mendacities
• fictions
• distortions
• exaggerations
• half-truths
• taradiddles
• myths
• libels
• defamations
• slanders
• deceits
• equivocations
• nonsense
• obliquities
• perjuries
• bluffs
• misconceptions
• fraudulences
• fallacies
• pretenses
• poses
• misinformation
• misrepresentations
• 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

His story mostly exists in the 13th century version of Arthurian tales known as the Vulgate Cycle. —Literary Hub, 3 June 2026

Ollinger was known to indulge fans with tales of unusual encounters with possible paranormal connection. —Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 3 June 2026

Discovery tales → A breakthrough is helping experts put names to victims of a long-unsolved Arctic tragedy. —Staff, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026

Aboard the boat, Terry regales his passengers with tales of the river, from namesake Twain to tragic Lovers' Leap just downstream of Hannibal. —Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 31 May 2026

The excitement continued with a visit from none other than Indiana Jones played by Choco Clotfelter, who regaled the students with tales of the railroads, travel, and the founding of the Del Mar Fair. —News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2026

One of the most heart-wrenching tales was that of Adventure Consultants co-founder and renowned mountaineer Rob Hall, whose decision to stay with an incapacitated client near the summit cost him his life. —Helen Regan, CNN Money, 30 May 2026

Those include some less-than-legal tales, such as the 1994 trio who pulled off a heist of a giant inflatable spider from the side of the American Eagle. —Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2026

The Simpsons struggle to find the light through two dark tales of the curious and bizarre in this Disney+ exclusive. —Joe Otterson, Variety, 28 May 2026