1
as in allegories
a story intended to teach a basic truth or moral about life
this classic Christmas film is essentially a fable showing how every person's life has meaning and touches the lives of others
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in myths
a traditional but unfounded story that gives the reason for a current custom, belief, or fact of nature
according to an ancient fable the waters of the mountain spring are the tears of a woman weeping for her lost children
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in fictions
something that is the product of the imagination
the stories of lost cities of gold may have been fables deliberately concocted by Native Americans to dupe the Spanish
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in tales
a statement known by its maker to be untrue and made in order to deceive
the fables that people tell themselves to rationalize their failures and shortcomings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fables
According to historical fables, yes.
—
Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
His movies — farces, fables, experiments — reside in surreal worlds of their own.
—Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
Will there be fables about musical sand dunes on Mars?
—Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Gossip fed the frenzy of the Salem Witch Trials and has been the subtext of one too many fables where mischief masks moral rot.
—Oriel Feldmanhall, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
The Master is the greatest of them all, a movie peopled by characters who are at once intensely human and also the stuff of otherworldly fables.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Modern horror is at the forefront of political movements and are the fables of our time.
—American Booksellers Association, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
Allusions to myths, fables, and riffs on common idioms abound, many of them evocative and quite funny.
—Lora Kelley, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2025
Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
His movies — farces, fables, experiments — reside in surreal worlds of their own.
—Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
Will there be fables about musical sand dunes on Mars?
—Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Gossip fed the frenzy of the Salem Witch Trials and has been the subtext of one too many fables where mischief masks moral rot.
—Oriel Feldmanhall, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
The Master is the greatest of them all, a movie peopled by characters who are at once intensely human and also the stuff of otherworldly fables.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Modern horror is at the forefront of political movements and are the fables of our time.
—American Booksellers Association, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
Allusions to myths, fables, and riffs on common idioms abound, many of them evocative and quite funny.
—Lora Kelley, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fables
Noun
-
Over the past 20 years of Black List darlings and Edgar Wright rip-offs, the American film industry has established a new archetype of cinema filled with quippy antiheroes, gory allegories for domestic strife, and character actors rattling off reference humor.—
Sam Bodrojan,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The Terror from Beyond Space served up slimy green men and Red Scare allegories, the period covered by Baron abounds with optimism and wonder.—
David Kamp,
Air Mail,
23 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Foundation Rock also highlights her relationship with other protective deities, consistently linking her power to myths and the spiritual undertone of water.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Oct. 2025
-
But when newspapers shifted from reinforcing social order to documenting disorder in readers’ own communities, audiences responded by distrusting the institution that shattered their comforting myths.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The End, the past year has seen a surge in speculative fictions about super-rich characters who hunker down in expensive isolation as the world burns.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
19 Sep. 2025
-
It is rooted in the dehumanizing language and convenient fictions that precede acts of violence.—
Brad Braxton,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The lore of the position is passed between players like travelers telling tales at a campfire.—
Jourdan Rodrigue,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Read on for the candid confessions and cautionary tales that might save you from making the same mistakes.—
Lauren Bengtson,
Better Homes & Gardens,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Discerning viewers flock to the Greek filmmaker’s parables about family dynamics and power struggles to marinate in his deadpan humor, his aloof and somewhat anthropological look at human behavior, and the sight of Emma Stone inevitably doing something odd.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
-
These parables sometimes read like gibberish, talking both down and up to the reader.—
Book Marks
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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That was a time, like this one, when Juventus were making mistakes in the pursuit of getting back to the top, even with legends like Gigi Buffon and Alex Del Piero in the team, and the likes of Chiellini and Claudio Marchisio beginning to emerge.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
-
As a result, many legends are connected to its violent past, and its dungeon, in particular, is said to be haunted by tortured souls.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As soon as a battle or a war has been fought, victors and losers alike begin to tell different stories.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The thrill of the unexplained is what prompts so many to take ghost tours, which often tell juicy and sometimes goosebump-inducing stories that give historic sites a richer context.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Further in lies a backlit bar, catering kitchen, and wine room—all three of which can be put to use during parties.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
23 Oct. 2025
-
What stands out is the sheer volume of lies that Ozer allegedly told.—
Steve Belanger,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fables.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fables. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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