legends

noun

plural of legend
1
as in tables
an explanatory list of the symbols on a map or chart the legend indicated that a large circle represented a major city, while a small circle stood for a small town

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2
as in captions
an explanation or description accompanying a pictorial illustration the legend in the science textbook indicated that the accompanying picture had been enlarged by 1000%

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3
as in myths
a traditional but unfounded story that gives the reason for a current custom, belief, or fact of nature some ancient civilizations had legends about spirits that inhabited trees and rocks

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4
as in mythologies
the body of customs, beliefs, stories, and sayings associated with a people, thing, or place that story of how the world came to be has long been part of Native American legend

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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 legends 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, 22 Oct. 2026 On hand to toast the birthday girl with Sonrisa Puerto Rican Rum spicy margaritas were Lemigova’s costars Marysol Patton, Alexia Nepola and Kiki Barth, along with fellow legends of the sport Chris Evert, Rosemary Casals and Gigi Fernandez. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026 Lord Ruthven, a seductive nobleman modeled after Byron himself, is accompanied by the tale’s narrator and later discovered to be the very vampire described in local legends. — Maria Papadouris, JSTOR Daily, 20 Oct. 2026 As both women seek solace in the island’s haunting legends, their stories intertwine across time, revealing how betrayal and creativity can lead to murder under the Mediterranean sun. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026 Comic Relief returned to New York on Monday night, 40 years after the homeless and child poverty charity event debuted with an iconic program hosted by three comedy legends. — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026 Now, more musical legends will step onto the stage alongside them. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 19 Oct. 2026 Performed by legends Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, the silly song is a tongue-twister for kiddos, and the titular word, which means ‘extraordinarily good, wonderful’ even made its way into some real deal dictionaries. — Stephanie Ganz Published, Parents, 18 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legends
  1. tables
  2. captions
  3. myths
  4. mythologies
  5. keys
  6. translations
  7. fables
  8. folklores
Noun
  • Call it a day if the tables turn cold while playing SEVEN hands.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But there’s only one restaurant with a literary prize and tables Kate Moss has danced on.
    — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of tables
Noun
  • The organization brings awareness to how disability is portrayed in film while also making movies more accessible by adding content warnings, captions and audio descriptions.
    — Isabelle Farina, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The bulk of the population actually engages in a rather high volume of daily digital reading--captions, emails, text and chat messages, news feeds, search results, etc.
    — Dana Kelley, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of captions
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
  • What impact did her decision to (arguably) curve Drake’s kiss attempt when presenting her the award have on both of their mythologies?
    — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Both of these tales were derived from the folk legends and mythologies involving witches and ghosts that were still prevalent along the Hudson Valley.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of mythologies
Noun
  • There was the woman on the sixth floor, who often forgot her keys and would press our buzzer to get Dad to go out and open the door for her.
    — Souvankham Thammavongsa, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2026
  • There are full-size Backspace, Delete, and arrow keys, in addition to a number pad and a separate row of volume controls.
    — Marshall Honorof, PC Magazine, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of keys
Noun
  • The neural network discovers such associations during training, by learning from huge numbers of English sentences paired with their French translations.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The late Margot Bettauer Dembo handled NYRB’s previous Seghers translations; Lucy Jones has taken over, and excellently conveys the incisive bite of the writing.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of translations
Noun
  • 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
Definition of fables
Noun
  • The kallikantzaroi are a group of blind, black goblins who live underground during most of the year sawing at the world tree – a motif throughout various folklores that connects the heavens to the Earth.
    — Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 20 Dec. 2022
Definition of folklores

Browse Nearby Words

legendry
legends
legerdemain
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Cite this Entry

“Legends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legends. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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