old wives' tales

noun

Definition of old wives' talesnext
plural of old wives' tale
as in errors
a false idea or belief the belief that going outside with wet hair will cause you to catch cold is just an old wives' tale

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Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for old wives' tales
  1. errors
  2. myths
  3. delusions
  4. illusions
Noun
  • Take the recent advice from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, of all people, which suggested verifying phishing emails by checking for spelling errors and grammatical inconsistencies.
    Davey Winder, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
  • However, there is a fundamental challenge in quantum computing space, as an increasing number of errors arise as the system grows in complexity with a higher number of qubits.
    Trefis Team, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of errors
Noun
  • Lengthy documents on their websites take on the various questionable health assertions and myths point by point with citations for studies and research to back them up.
    Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
  • The myths are impossible to confirm hundreds of years later, Beach said, but the story is that Magnus was a Roman soldier who helped gather Christians to be martyred.
    Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of myths
Noun
  • Clinical trials showed the combination helped manage schizophrenia symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thinking.
    Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 23 Dec. 2024
  • Elevating Mangione to a mythical status only serves to deepen his delusions of grandeur.
    Gord Magill, Newsweek, 21 Dec. 2024
Definition of delusions
Noun
  • As bitcoin matures, its volatility is likely to settle, leaving behind an asset whose long-term stability is built on solid fundamentals, not illusions of control.
    Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
  • With the concept of tribal alliances still exotic at this early stage of the show’s evolution, the Pagong tribe members were a mess of conflicting agendas and illusions about making voting decisions based on integrity and other such nonsense.
    Joe Reid, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2024
Definition of illusions
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near old wives' tales

old wives' tale

old wives' tales

old-world

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Cite this Entry

“Old wives' tales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/old%20wives%27%20tales. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

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