tale

tale

noun \ˈtāl\

Definition of TALE

1

obsolete : discourse, talk

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 : a usually imaginative narrative of an event : story b : an intentionally untrue report : falsehood <always preferred the tale to the truth — Sir Winston Churchill>

4

a : count, tally b : total

Examples of TALE

1. The movie is a stirring tale of courage.
2. We listened to his familiar tale of woe as he talked again about the failure of his marriage.
3. He told us thrilling tales about his adventures as a pilot in the war.
4. Are you telling tales again? Or is that the truth?

Origin of TALE

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

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to TALE

Synonyms: canard, story, whisper

Antonyms: truth

Related Words: dirt, gossip, scuttlebutt, talebearing, talk, tattle; dirty laundry, dirty linen; defamation, libel, slander; hearsay; fable, fabrication, fairy tale, falsehood, falsity, fib, lie, mendacity, prevarication, untruth, whopper

Near Antonyms: fact, truism, verity; honesty, truthfulness, veracity; authentication, confirmation, substantiation, validation, verification

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Rhymes with TALE

ail, ale, bail, bale, Bâle, brail, braille, Braille, dale, fail, flail, frail, Gael, gale, Gale, grail, hail, hale, jail, kale, mail, male, nail, pail, pale, quail, Quayle, rail, sail, sale, scale, shale, snail, stale, swale, tael, tail, taille, trail, vail, vale, veil, wail, wale, whale, Yale