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

Join me each week for these and other tales about Des Moines' and Iowa's surprisingly colorful past. —Bill Steiden, Des Moines Register, 5 Feb. 2026

Rockrohr used both sides of this visual coin, telling of groundwork done by the late Harry Teshima to bring Black residents into the community and tales of lasting friendships and stories of insults thrown at Black students. —Jerry Shnay, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2026

Suddenly my parents’ tales from 80 years ago are no longer remote and alien. —Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2026

Pop culture is full of cautionary tales about time spent waiting for commitment. —Meehika Barua, Time, 3 Feb. 2026

Those cautionary tales linger in the minds of physicists. —IEEE Spectrum, 3 Feb. 2026

Over a thousand people responded with tales of that one auntie who had time, disposable income, and dropped game on everything from business to love. —Ashley Simpo, Parents, 30 Jan. 2026

He was also inspired by Southern California ghost stories and urban legends, including the tales of Carbon Canyon, which is said to be a hotspot for ghost sightings and to have a mysterious, eerie atmosphere. —Charlie Vargas, Oc Register, 30 Jan. 2026

These are human stories first and foremost, tales of tragedy, struggle over adversity, and bittersweet romance. —Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026