: a characteristically anonymous, timeless, and placeless tale circulated orally among a people
Examples of folktale in a Sentence
West African folktales that continue to be passed from generation to generation through storytelling.
Recent Examples on the Web
The Swimming Pool What folktale begins with a blacksmith in Michigan and ends with a bullfrog in New Jersey?
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John McPhee, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
Canada and the United States Indigenous tribes across what is now Canada and the northern United States (including Alaska) have myriad folktales surrounding the celestial dance.
—Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 30 Dec. 2024
Baum’s story has inspired many spin-offs and variations, similar to how a folktale like Beauty and the Beast has been endlessly remixed and retold.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024
Directed by Hiroshi Nagahama — who has touched on horror folktales before with the excellent Mushi-shi — the story is about a town suffering from a curse that manifests through spirals.
—Kambole Campbell, Vulture, 30 Aug. 2024
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John McPhee, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
Canada and the United States Indigenous tribes across what is now Canada and the northern United States (including Alaska) have myriad folktales surrounding the celestial dance.
—Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 30 Dec. 2024
Baum’s story has inspired many spin-offs and variations, similar to how a folktale like Beauty and the Beast has been endlessly remixed and retold.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024
Directed by Hiroshi Nagahama — who has touched on horror folktales before with the excellent Mushi-shi — the story is about a town suffering from a curse that manifests through spirals.
—Kambole Campbell, Vulture, 30 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for folktale
Dictionary Entries Near folktale
Cite this Entry
“Folktale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/folktale. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
folktale
noun
folk·tale
-ˌtāl 
: a story made up and handed down by the common people
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