A tale is a story, often involving magic or exciting events.
...a collection of stories, poems and folk tales.
...the tales of King Arthur and his Round Table.
Synonyms: story, narrative, anecdote, account More Synonyms of tale
2. countable noun
You can refer to an interesting, exciting, or dramatic account of a real event as a tale.
The media have been filled with tales of horror and loss resulting from Monday'searthquake. [+ of]
He tells me long tales about my mother.
3. See also fairy tale, old wives' tale, tall tale
4.
See live to tell the tale
5.
See tell tales
6. See also tell-tale
More Synonyms of tale
tale in British English
(teɪl)
noun
1.
a report, narrative, or story
2.
one of a group of short stories connected by an overall narrative framework
3.
a.
a malicious or meddlesome rumour or piece of gossip
to bear tales against someone
b.
(in combination)
talebearer
taleteller
4.
a fictitious or false statement
5. tell tales
6. tell a tale
7. tell its own tale
8. archaic
a.
a number; amount
b.
computation or enumeration
9. an obsolete word for talk
Word origin
Old English talu list; related to Old Frisian tele talk, Old Saxon, Old Norse tala talk, number, Old High German zala number
tale in American English
(teɪl)
noun
1.
something told or related; relation or recital of happenings
2.
a.
a story or account of true, legendary, or fictitious events; narrative
b.
a literary composition in narrative form
3.
a piece of gossip
4.
a falsehood; lie
5. Archaic
a tally; count
6. Obsolete
the act of telling
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈstory
Word origin
ME < OE talu, speech, number, akin to Ger zahl, number, Du taal, speech < IE base *del-, to aim, reckon, trick > Gr dolos, L dolus, guile, artifice
More idioms containing
tale
live to tell the tale
something tells its own tale
an old wives' tale
COBUILD Collocations
tale
cautionary tale
sad tale
Examples of 'tale' in a sentence
tale
These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Sweet illustrations and cute dogs make for a charming tale for little ones.
The Sun (2016)
Sully also has an advantage since it tells the tale of disaster averted.
The Sun (2016)
Perhaps it was telling tales of his family that made him more relatable.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
That old wives' tale about not putting anything smaller than your elbow inside your ear?
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
So the play becomes a fine old-fashioned morality tale about an agonising dilemma.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
So he heads out there to talk to experts, historians and locals about the tales.
The Sun (2016)
This show is ostensibly tales about that, but he has a tendency to wander off down other routes.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is a disturbing, dark tale and perhaps one the victims might have been better left to recover from in peace.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
A difficult tale, but one that needs to be told and needs to be read.
The Sun (2016)
You hear such horrific tales about them.
Shapiro, Jean Get the Best out of the Rest of Your Life (1990)
It takes a lot of looking to put together the full tale.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Tales of horror have that effect on people.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The story is a tale of our time.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
This collection of tales is perfect bedtime fodder.
The Sun (2008)
Often the worst tales are the ones that combine the two.
The Sun (2014)
Who has the more interesting tale to tell?
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Mir launched into the following folk tale.
James Fergusson KANDAHAR COCKNEY: A Tale of Two Worlds (2004)
We need not worry about the cautionary tale who sat ringside yesterday.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Everybody wants to tell this tale in the fullest possible fashion.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Alongside this bleak tale is a story full of grace and ingenuity.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It is one of those tales that ages rather well.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It is a moral tale in miniature about man and the planet.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
She uses this folk tale to take an unflinching look at the domain of the deep instinctive self.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
This is not a tale of City greed v the downtrodden working man.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Angels also tells the tale of a group of young anthropologists vying for a research grant and the politics of their university department.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Are there no epic tales of loss and shame from human history prior to the 1960s?
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It is a similar tale at City.
The Sun (2007)
Yet he has woven a quietly absorbing gangland tale, full of moral ambiguities.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The three-part drama is a timeless love story and a tale of class and social standing.
The Sun (2015)
Residents who were ferried by helicopter to Texas City told harrowing tales of survival.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The creaking action heroes are back on screen for the tale about a group of mercenaries who head to South America to try to overthrow a dictator.
The Sun (2010)
Quotations
And so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe, And then from hour to hour we rot and rot; And thereby hangs a taleWilliam ShakespeareAs You Like It
A tale never loses in the telling
In other languages
tale
British English: tale /teɪl/ NOUN
A tale is a story, especially one involving adventure or magic.
...stories, poems and folk tales.
American English: tale
Arabic: حِكَايَة
Brazilian Portuguese: conto
Chinese: 故事
Croatian: priča
Czech: příběh
Danish: fortælling
Dutch: sprookje
European Spanish: cuento
Finnish: tarina
French: récit
German: Erzählung
Greek: μύθος ιστορία
Italian: storia
Japanese: 話
Korean: 이야기
Norwegian: historie
Polish: opowieść
European Portuguese: conto
Romanian: basm
Russian: сказка
Latin American Spanish: cuento
Swedish: berättelse
Thai: เรื่องเล่า
Turkish: masal
Ukrainian: оповідання
Vietnamese: câu chuyện
All related terms of 'tale'
folk tale
a story, usually of anonymous authorship and containing legendary elements, made and handed down orally among the common people
sad tale
You can refer to an interesting, exciting , or dramatic account of a real event as a tale .
tall tale
A tall tale is a long and complicated story that is difficult to believe because most of the events it describes seem unlikely or impossible .
tell-tale
Something that is described as telltale gives away information, often about something bad that would otherwise not be noticed .
fairy tale
A fairy tale is a story for children involving magical events and imaginary creatures .
cautionary tale
You can refer to an interesting, exciting , or dramatic account of a real event as a tale .
pitch a tale
to tell a story , usually of a fantastic nature
tell a tale
to reveal something important
old wives' tale
An old wives ' tale is a traditional belief, especially one which is incorrect .
an old wives' tale
a commonly held belief that is based on traditional ideas, often ones which have been proved to be incorrect or inaccurate
tell its own tale
to be self-evident
live to tell the tale
If you survive a dangerous or frightening experience and so are able to tell people about it afterwards , you can say that you lived to tell the tale .
something tells its own tale
said to mean that something reveals the truth about a particular situation
Chinese translation of 'tale'
tale
(teɪl)
n(c)
(= story) 故事 (gùshi) (个(個), gè)
(= account) 传(傳)闻(聞) (chuánwén) (个(個), gè)
to tell tales[child]打小报(報)告 (dǎ xiǎobàogào)
1 (noun)
Definition
a report, account, or story
a collection of poems and folk tales
Synonyms
story
a popular love story with a happy ending
narrative
He began his narrative with the day of the murder.
anecdote
He has a talent for recollection and anecdote.
account
I gave a detailed account of what had happened that night.
relation
novel
He had all but finished writing a first novel.
legend
the legends of ancient Greece
fiction
She is a writer of historical fiction.
romance
Her taste in fiction was for historical romances.
saga
a Nordic saga of giants and trolls
short story
yarn (informal)
Doug has a yarn or two to tell me about his trips into the bush.
fable
Each tale has the timeless quality of fable.
narration
conte (French)
spiel (informal)
urban myth
urban legend
2 (noun)
Definition
a malicious piece of gossip
He's always ready to spin a tall tale about the one that got away.
Synonyms
lie
I've had enough of your lies.
fabrication
She described the interview with her as a `complete fabrication'.
falsehood
He accused them of knowingly spreading falsehoods about him.
fib
She told innocent fibs.
untruth
The Authority accused estate agents of using blatant untruths.
spiel (informal)
tall story (informal)
rigmarole
He gave me some rigmarole about the train being late.
cock-and-bull story (informal)
Quotation
And so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe, And then from hour to hour we rot and rot; And thereby hangs a tale [William Shakespeare – As You Like It]
proverb
A tale never loses in the telling
Additional synonyms
in the sense of account
Definition
a report or description
I gave a detailed account of what had happened that night.
Synonyms
description,
report,
record,
story,
history,
detail,
statement,
relation,
version,
tale,
explanation,
narrative,
chronicle,
portrayal,
recital,
depiction,
narration
in the sense of anecdote
Definition
a short amusing account of an incident
He has a talent for recollection and anecdote.
Synonyms
story,
tale,
sketch,
short story,
yarn (informal),
reminiscence,
urban myth,
urban legend
in the sense of fable
Definition
a story about mythical characters or events
Each tale has the timeless quality of fable.
Synonyms
legend,
myth,
parable,
allegory,
story,
tale,
apologue
Synonyms of 'tale'
tale
Explore 'tale' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of fabrication
She described the interview with her as a `complete fabrication'.
Synonyms
forgery,
lie,
fiction,
myth,
fake,
invention,
fable,
concoction,
falsehood,
figment,
untruth,
porky (British, slang),
fairy story (informal),
pork pie (British, slang),
cock-and-bull story (informal),
claptrap (informal)
in the sense of falsehood
Definition
a lie
He accused them of knowingly spreading falsehoods about him.
Synonyms
lie,
story (informal),
fiction,
fabrication,
fib,
untruth,
porky (British, slang),
pork pie (British, slang),
misstatement
in the sense of fib
Definition
a trivial and harmless lie
She told innocent fibs.
Synonyms
lie,
story (informal),
fiction,
untruth,
whopper (informal),
porky (British, slang),
pork pie (British, slang),
white lie,
prevarication
in the sense of fiction
Definition
literary works invented by the imagination, such as novels
She is a writer of historical fiction.
Synonyms
tale,
story,
novel,
legend,
myth,
romance,
fable,
storytelling,
narration,
creative writing,
work of imagination
in the sense of legend
Definition
a popular story handed down from earlier times which may or may not be true
the legends of ancient Greece
Synonyms
myth,
story,
tale,
fiction,
narrative,
saga,
fable,
folk tale,
urban myth,
urban legend,
folk story
in the sense of narrative
Definition
an account of events
He began his narrative with the day of the murder.
Synonyms
story,
report,
history,
detail,
account,
statement,
tale,
chronicle,
recital
in the sense of novel
Definition
a long fictional story in book form
He had all but finished writing a first novel.
Synonyms
story,
tale,
fiction,
romance,
narrative
in the sense of relation
Definition
an account or narrative
Synonyms
account,
report,
story,
tale,
description,
narrative,
recital,
narration,
recountal
in the sense of rigmarole
Definition
a set of incoherent or pointless statements
He gave me some rigmarole about the train being late.
Synonyms
twaddle,
story,
saga,
trash,
jargon,
yarn (informal),
gibberish,
spiel (informal),
balderdash
in the sense of romance
Definition
a story or film dealing with love, usually in an idealized way
Her taste in fiction was for historical romances.
Synonyms
story,
novel,
tale,
fantasy,
legend,
fiction,
fairy tale,
love story,
melodrama,
idyll,
tear-jerker (informal)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of saga
Definition
a medieval Scandinavian legend telling the adventures of a hero or a family
a Nordic saga of giants and trolls
Synonyms
epic,
story,
tale,
legend,
adventure,
romance,
narrative,
chronicle,
yarn (informal),
fairy tale,
folk tale,
roman-fleuve
in the sense of untruth
Definition
a statement that is not true
The Authority accused estate agents of using blatant untruths.
Synonyms
lie,
fabrication,
falsehood,
fib,
story (informal),
tale,
fiction,
deceit,
whopper (informal),
porky (British, slang),
pork pie (British, slang),
falsification,
prevarication
in the sense of yarn
Definition
a long involved story
Doug has a yarn or two to tell me about his trips into the bush.