tale

noun

ˈtāl How to pronounce tale (audio)
Definition of talenext
1
as in story
a rumor or report of a personal or sensational nature don't believe the tales you hear about our neighbor's kid

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Relevance
2
as in anecdote
a brief account of something interesting that happened especially to one personally asked Dad to tell once again the tale of how, as a kid, he broke his arm jumping out of a tree

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3
as in lie
a statement known by its maker to be untrue and made in order to deceive told tall tales in an attempt to impress me with her supposedly upper-crust background

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in novella
a work with imaginary characters and events that is shorter and usually less complex than a novel the oft-told tale of Sleeping Beauty

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5
as in count
a total number obtained or recorded by noting each thing as it was being added when the tale of the dead from the disaster is announced, the city will be in shock

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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 tale Schwartz, a writer and folklorist, gathered spooky tales from all over the United States and compiled them into three of the most popular children’s books of the 1980s. — Liz Rosenberg, The Conversation, 23 Oct. 2026 The tale of the tape on the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays is very similar. — Kevin Dotson, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026 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 What makes his tale unique is that it is so carefully reported with nuance, colorful and vivid descriptions, and even humor. — Terry Hartle, Christian Science Monitor, 22 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tale
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tale
  1. story
  2. lie
  3. novella
  4. count
  5. whisper
  6. tally
  7. score
Noun
  • The Same Curve, Every Time Skeptics have been telling this story for a hundred years.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But all that warm, crowd-pleasing material is incongruously, fascinatingly, and not so comfortably fitted inside a story about great loss.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of story
Noun
  • The ad also accuses his Democratic opponent, Brian Poindexter, of telling lies about him.
    — Lara Korte The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The allegations hurled by state officials against Orange County were based on flat-out lies.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of lie
Noun
  • Based on his 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart, Barker wrote and directed the first Hellraiser movie the following year, introducing audiences to Pinhead (Doug Bradley) and his Cenobites.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Late Fame was adapted faithfully from the Austrian writer Arthur Schnitzler’s late nineteenth-century novella, itself a recent recovery, but the transposition to the present functions only up until this point.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of novella
Noun
  • But the fact that Ammann’s platelet count, like Lanitis’s and Hawrylak’s, had been impacted after the alpha-lipoic- acid infusion suggested that Ammann, too, might have had an adverse response.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
  • In July, Brown pleaded guilty to a count of affray at London’s Southwark Crown Court for attacking a music producer with a tequila bottle on the head.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of count
Noun
  • The landscape flowed in ridges and mountains of faded yellow and whisper pink, where welwitschia–large, low-lying plants that live to be hundreds of years old–sprawled like relics from a Dune film set.
    — Samantha Falewée, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Oct. 2026
  • SteelSeries Gaming Keyboard Deal Keep your keystrokes whisper-quiet and lightning-fast using the SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL Gaming Keyboard.
    — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of whisper
Noun
  • Here's the running tally of investors' collective cash holdings as a percentage of total margin debt.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The arrest tally reported Sunday approached the nearly 2,000 recorded nationwide during a single day of yellow vest protests in December 2018.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of tally
Noun
  • On the score, rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane had ideal coverage and the Chiefs brought eight on a blitz.
    — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Charlotte Observer score predictions Alex Zietlow remained perfect last week after choosing the Panthers over the Eagles.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of score

Phrases Containing tale

Browse Nearby Words

taking up with
tale
talebearer
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Cite this Entry

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

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