tales

noun

plural of tale
1
as in stories
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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2
as in anecdotes
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 lies
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 novellas
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 counts
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 tales In forums on Reddit, women share tales of having perimenopause and menopause symptoms misdiagnosed or dismissed as mental health disorders, early-onset dementia, or autoimmune issues, resulting in months or years of unnecessary testing. — Yulin Hswen, STAT, 27 Aug. 2026 Vedder’s elliptical tales of adolescent trauma were a perfect fit with music that blended classic-rock tropes (especially McCready’s solos) with punk energy, grunge guitar tones and the groove-heavy vibe of early-Nineties alt-rock. — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026 It had been left empty for more than a decade, and the property had become the subject of local ghost stories and tall tales. — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 22 Aug. 2026 The second book, Shift, consists of alternating flashback sequences, telling both the origin story of the silos and tales from past rebellions. — Noel Murray, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026 The two dashing newcomers have since been regaling the Georgia Aquarium’s existing belugas, a quartet of females*, with tales of their peregrinations. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Aug. 2026 For the next eight years, Holmes lay dead at the bottom of the Swiss falls while Doyle branched out into historical fiction, science fiction, horror tales, and medical stories. — Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026 The genre has become increasingly important to streamers as stories about first loves, high school drama and coming-of-age tales connect with a wide demographic, from young people to older generations. — Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026 Instead of ghost tales, the young cast was eager to get advice from the brothers. — Sarah Hearon, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tales
  1. stories
  2. lies
  3. novellas
  4. counts
  5. whispers
  6. scores
  7. tallies
Noun
  • During their visit, the wife talked incessantly, sharing stories about their family members in great detail.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Elwood’s conversations with CNN were peppered with alarming stories and punctuated by his broad, disarming laugh.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of stories
Noun
  • From February 2022 until they were arrested on Monday, Love and Chan solicited money from women in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho through lies and misrepresentations, according to the United States Attorney’s Office in Portland.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The film follows an 11-year-old boy who exploits his brother’s tragic death to fight his father and his community, until his lies expose the hypocrisy and corruption beneath a seemingly moral society.
    — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of lies
Noun
  • There have always been short books, some traditionally noted as novellas (20,000-40,000 words), yet not marketed as such.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The series currently encompasses nine sub-series arcs, standalone novels, novellas, English-language manga and graphic novels.
    — Mya Copeland, Variety, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of novellas
Noun
  • Hidden like counts, disabled autoplay by default, and a ban on extreme makeup filters in addition to Meta’s existing cosmetic-surgery filter ban.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Clancy, 36, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of her children — Cora, Dawson and Callan, all younger than 6 — who were discovered strangled at the family's home in January 2023.
    — Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of counts
Noun
  • Last year, footage of a skeleton prop at a winter Zac Brown Band concert drew whispers of devil worship.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
  • But his contract runs out in March, and for nearly a year there have been whispers that his extension is coming soon.
    — Jonathan Jones, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of whispers
Noun
  • Sleep should remain a priority, but perfect sleep scores on a WHOOP won’t always be possible in consequential roles.
    — Julian Hayes II, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Here are Friday’s Week 1 high school football scores from around the Southland.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of scores
Noun
  • The group began promoting the project this spring with a slew of singles, one of which is currently on the rise on various Billboard tallies.
    — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • It’s been a long five years since Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car rode a rave of critical support to a Best Picture nomination off of miniscule box-office tallies.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of tallies

Browse Nearby Words

talents
tales
tale-teller
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Cite this Entry

“Tales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tales. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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