1
as in allegory
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
Relevance
2
as in myth
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 tale
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 lie
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fable
All this recalls the fable of the boy who cried wolf once too often.
—
Steve Forbes, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
Loading your audio article There’s an old fable about a frog in a boiling pot of water.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2025
The Brutalist is a Fitzcarraldo fable of artistic endeavor, a universal immigrant tale and a searing indictment of capitalism
Jones plays opposite Brody as Tóth’s wife, Erzsébet, in an indelible portrait of a woman physically broken by war who remains resolutely unbroken in spirit.
—Wendell Steavenson, Vogue, 5 Jan. 2025
Some will read Schlink’s latest as an inspiring fable of intergenerational unity and redemption.
—Randy Boyagoda, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fable
Steve Forbes, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
Loading your audio article There’s an old fable about a frog in a boiling pot of water.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2025
The Brutalist is a Fitzcarraldo fable of artistic endeavor, a universal immigrant tale and a searing indictment of capitalism
Jones plays opposite Brody as Tóth’s wife, Erzsébet, in an indelible portrait of a woman physically broken by war who remains resolutely unbroken in spirit.
—Wendell Steavenson, Vogue, 5 Jan. 2025
Some will read Schlink’s latest as an inspiring fable of intergenerational unity and redemption.
—Randy Boyagoda, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fable
Noun
-
Using satirical allegory, broad farce, horror and violence, the visionary Korean master has made a string of standout genre films that double as subversive takes on sociopolitical rot, from Memories of Murder to The Host, Snowpiercer to Parasite, frequently making a virtue of tonal whiplash.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
15 Feb. 2025
-
Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the U.S. government persecuted people of being communists.—
Contributed Content,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Entrepreneurship Brings Freedom One myth is that entrepreneurship brings freedom.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes,
20 Feb. 2025
-
The myth that breast pain can't be a sign of cancer is persistent.—
Korin Miller,
SELF,
20 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Notably, there was zero mention of Baldoni or his company, Wayfarer Studios, which had brought on Sony to market and distribute their adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel about a woman caught up in an intertwining tale of new love and domestic abuse.—
Pamela McClintock,
The Hollywood Reporter,
25 Feb. 2025
-
Icelandic helmer Baltasar Kormákur directed the first episode and was heavily involved in the series, which brings an historical tale of Harold, Earl of Wessex (Norton), and William, Duke of Normandy (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), to life.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Russian politicians and state media were thrilled to hear the U.S. president backing their insulting and obvious lies.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Feb. 2025
-
What follows is the unearthing of an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes far beyond her own life, leading to the discovery of a psychology experiment on a pair of twins – once hailed as a revolutionary success but now revealed to be a terrible lie affecting thousands around the world.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
20 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Jameson seeks accounts of its daily life instead of parables of repression, and finds them in long novels by Günter Grass and Uwe Tellkamp.—
Mark Greif,
Harper's Magazine,
26 July 2024
-
Bathed in a pink-pop glow, its pastiche of romance and horror collide in a viciously mischievous parable of technology and control that speaks to these most anxious times.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
22 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Hosted by radio legend Nic Harcourt, with interviews by Lyndsey Parker and Steve Baltin, the livestream will highlight iconic Los Angeles artists and legendary songs inspired by the city.—
Andrea Zarczynski,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Golf legend Annika Sorenstam has endorsed sports administrator Larry Scott for the position of LPGA Commissioner.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
This Morning, This Evening (a portrait of a rural Alabama community in which Ross embedded himself), to Nickel Boys, his impressionistic bravura fiction feature debut about two Black boys sent to a reform school in Jim Crow–era Florida.—
Lisa Wong Macabasco,
Vogue,
22 Feb. 2025
-
NewsGuard has identified 273 phony news sites of this type with links to Dougan, spreading disinformation that is then repeated by the leading Western chatbots, which NewsGuard has found have a limited ability to distinguish truth from fiction.—
Tom Rogers,
Newsweek,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
In the red light district of Paris sits a viral, visually stunning basketball court that has become revered, as Eduardo Tansley writes in a fun story today.—
Alex Kirshner,
The Athletic,
23 Feb. 2025
-
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.—
Erin Clack,
People.com,
23 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fable. Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share