TALE Synonyms: 104 Similar and Opposite Words

tale

noun

ˈtāl

Definition of tale

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

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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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

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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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 Take Samuel Gui Yang, who offered a compelling read on the Chinese tale of the White Snake and Green Snake sisters, filtering it through the atmosphere and color language of early-1990s Hong Kong cinema. — Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026 Theranos is, in many ways, a cautionary tale and a relic of 2010s Silicon Valley. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2026 CoreWeave, whose debt is showing signs of distress, has become the sector's latest cautionary tale. — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026 But Gurdon doesn’t hold up the caprices and improvisations of her childhood as either a model or a cautionary tale. — Danny Heitman, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tale

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tale

Noun

After the boutique’s statement, Clarkson doubled down on her claims on her Instagram stories with photos featuring a price tag on the bird that contradicted the shop’s first statement.

— Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Some economists, including researchers at the Minneapolis Fed, argue the data don’t tell such a clean story.

— Molly A. Wallace, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of story

Noun

As for the sitting president, he’s named just once, in the opening line of the titular novella.

— Ryan Chapman, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
The company is working on a feature adaptation of Pulitzer Prize finalist Torrey Peters’ novella Stag Dance and a feature romantic comedy from Carly Usdin and Brittani Nichols featuring WNBA players Gabby Williams, Theresa Plaisance, and Syd Colson.

— Peter White, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of novella

Noun

Around 180 Intermarche or its Netto brand supermarkets were targeted, parent company Les Mousquetaires told TIME, although BFM-TV reported a higher count of 300.

— Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 13 Oct. 2026
Others have been buried by the migrants themselves, but they won't be added to the official count until authorities can verify the bodies, Alexandre Coissac, IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti, told the Associated Press via the phone.

— JAMEY KEATEN, Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of count

Noun

Monday was a perfect example, when the two biggest drags on the S&P 500 were Nvidia and Micron, but were offset almost to the penny by gains in Apple and Meta, helping the index itself to finish a whisper from unchanged.

— Michael Santoli, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026
Lance Leipold has heard the whispers through the years that perhaps Kansas’ football coach doesn’t place enough emphasis on the yearly Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State.

— Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of whisper

Noun

Yamamoto made 36 pitches and got only two outs in the inning, a taxing tally that included, two batters after Turang, a 12-pitch walk to Jake Bauers, which was a career high for both pitcher and hitter.

— Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
The team also had reason to celebrate on the track Sunday, as Max Verstappen claimed his first-ever Singapore Grand Prix victory, taking his career win tally to 73.

— Jenny Lee, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of tally

Noun

After having run for 128 yards and two scores against Los Angeles, Walker has amassed 655 yards and six touchdowns on the ground while adding two TDs as a receiver.

— Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026
Tight end Foster Moreau caught two touchdown passes from Stroud, who also connected with Jaylin Noel for a 13-yard score in the third quarter for a 24-14 lead.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of score

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“Tale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tale. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of tale

noun

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Synonyms of tale

noun

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Phrases Containing tale

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Cite this Entry

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