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

No two tales of what happened to Maelor after his knight protector was shot dead agree, but the young boy was also slain on the bridge, perhaps torn apart by the mob who assailed him, arguing over what to do with the young prince. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Writers who tell tales without accounting for the omnipresence of digital eyes and data trails do so at their peril. — Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2026

Even if corporate needs are the main reason why creatives are still getting to tell stories set in a galaxy far, far away, the meta conversation found in these tales might help refresh and save Star Wars. — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 5 Aug. 2026

And with Molly Ringwald as his muse, Hughes’s directorial debut established his gift for frank and empathetic tales of adolescent crushes and high school social hierarchies. — Al Shipley, SPIN, 4 Aug. 2026

But with certain tales taking place in the past and some connecting more directly to others in the overall narrative, maybe try out a different viewing order to change things up. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026

To pass the time, the families developed music and recounted tales about wood nymphs and forest spirits, folklore that became an integral part of the culture. — Christine Muhlke, Travel + Leisure, 4 Aug. 2026

Politicians in both parties often used tales of Medicaid fraud on the part of providers and recipients to justify tighter eligibility rules and spending cuts. — Ben Zdencanovic, The Conversation, 3 Aug. 2026

This is by no means a complete list but all of them are cautionary tales of how men with elite athletic talent forfeited their futures because of drugs, alcohol, or violence that included domestic abuse and even murder. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026