tale

noun

Synonyms of talenext
1
a
: a usually imaginative narrative of an event : story
b
: an intentionally untrue report : falsehood
… always preferred the tale to the truth …Sir Winston Churchill
2
a
: a series of events or facts told or presented : account
b(1)
: a report of a private or confidential matter
dead men tell no tales
(2)
: a libelous report or piece of gossip
3
a
b
: total
4
obsolete : discourse, talk

Examples of tale in a Sentence

The movie is a stirring tale of courage. We listened to his familiar tale of woe as he talked again about the failure of his marriage. He told us thrilling tales about his adventures as a pilot in the war. Are you telling tales again? Or is that the truth?
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
To that point, human history was a tale of conquest and caste and rigid hierarchies, a world where the strong dominated the weak, where power and wealth and status flowed through lineage and the many were ruled by the few. Hilary Gowins, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2026 One tree may have even witnessed the grisly moment told of in tall tales, which gave Hangman's Gulch its name, but sadly, the tree recently died and had to be cut down for the safety of trail users. Olivia Young, CBS News, 19 June 2026 China has two films in the main competition, the 2025 $215m box office hit Nobody by Shui Yu, and Tana, a contemporary tale about a young woman who leaves Shanghai to support her ailing father in Inner Mongolia. Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 19 June 2026 Just look up the tales about the shape of the bar in Cheers or the pillar in Monica’s apartment on Friends or the depiction of gay intimacy on Will & Grace. Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 19 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for tale

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English talu; akin to Old Norse tala talk

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Time Traveler
The first known use of tale was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tale. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.

Kids Definition

tale

noun
1
: something told
a tale of woe
2
: a story about an imaginary event
a fairy tale
3
: a false story : lie
4
: a piece of harmful gossip
spread tales about us

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