FABLES Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

fables

noun

plural of fable

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

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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

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as in tales

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in lies

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

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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 fables Few eras of Greek history compare to the ancient times that the country has become so synonymous with—the cinematic fables of Odysseus, comic-book lore of Leonidas, and philosophic creeds of Socrates are ever-present in pop culture. — Shannon McMahon, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Sep. 2026 Abstract Deer Deer are the center of countless fairytales, fables, and general folklore. — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 29 Aug. 2026 Likewise, Schoenbrun specializes in zeitgeisty fables about 21st century isolation. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026 Explore the Wild West from the back of a rickety wagon as characters share famed fables about Paul Bunyan, Babe the Blue Ox, Pecos Bill, John Henry and Hekeke. — Nicole Bennett, AJC.com, 10 July 2026 In 1964, Time, which then had a circulation of more than 3 million, ran a cover story on John Cheever, the author known for his dark fables of suburban malaise. — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026 My dad’s stories about his grade-school experience felt like dark fables, peppered with slurs hurled at him by classmates. — Rachel Tepper Paley, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026 The novel has a freewheeling spirit that recalls Italo Calvino’s space fables in Cosmicomics. — Literary Hub, 11 June 2026 The collection spans centuries of storytelling in multiple genres, from migratory fairytales with kings and princesses to legends of ghosts and the Devil to fables with talking animals. — Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 7 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fables

Noun

Mungiu may have a less sadistic streak and a more active camera, but the two filmmakers share a particular commitment to narrative indeterminacy, devising intricate yet incomplete crime-story plots that function broadly as sociopolitical allegories.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026
There are allegories that can be read about fear of the unknown breeding cruelty and exploitation, but Disclosure Day is first and foremost a propulsive yarn with thematic roots in hope, truth, empathy and perhaps even spirituality.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 9 June 2026

Definition of allegories

Noun

Also intertwined are ancient myths of warring city-states, the raw, moody poetry of John Keats, and the modern battle between a faithless husband and his wife, the poem’s raging speaker.

— Merve Emre, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
But Brigid also appears throughout the early Irish myths as a member of the aes sidhe.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of myths

Noun

If Crystal and Ellis had stayed on that tack — tales about the house at 860 bound together by a sense of its loss — 860 might have the sturdiness of a tearjerker.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
On the surface, his new album Antione’s Son is the same old same old—airy melodies, drug talk, vomiting ad-libs—but punched up by suburban ennui and in-the-weeds romantic tales that makes the music feel refreshingly personal.

— Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of tales

Noun

There’s a reason why political stories are often chosen as parables for moral compromise.

— Matt Donnelly, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
As nightmare thought experiments shape the fight over how to govern a multitrillion-dollar industry, some experts say the parables may lead decision-makers astray.

— Nitasha Tiku, Washington Post, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of parables

Noun

Knight is one of several aging music legends who have recently been the center of concerned conversation after on-stage appearances.

— Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026
After admiring Lakers legends, Kessler can now be mentioned in the same breath.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of legends

Noun

In the 2021 Senate runoff elections in Georgia, this writer did a number of stories following forecasts by Thomas Miller, a prominent data scientist who’s a professor at Northwestern University.

— Shawn Tully, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
Yet neither of these stories fits the timing or scale of the decline.

— J. Travis Donahoe, STAT, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of stories

Browse Nearby Words

fabled

fables

fabric

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Style

“Fables.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fables. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of fables

noun

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