fable
A short story, often about animals, that teaches a lesson.
fable in a sentence
- In the famous fable, the slow and steady tortoise beats the boastful hare.
- Gran told us a fable about a greedy crow, ending with a little lesson about sharing.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to fable?
- Atruth
- Btale
- Cfact
Show the answer
B: tale. The other three mean the opposite of fable.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to fable?
- Afact
- Bstory
- Ctale
Show the answer
A: fact. The other three mean nearly the same as fable.
Words that mean something similar
tale, story
Words that mean the opposite
fact, truth
More words about thinking & learning
- fathom: To understand something after thinking about it very hard.
- foresee: To know something will happen before it actually does.
- fundamental: Forming the most important base of something.
- heed: To pay careful attention to advice or a warning.
- ignorant: Not knowing about something, often because you have not been told or taught.
- illusion: Something that tricks your eyes or mind into believing what is not real.
- imaginative: Full of new and clever ideas.
- immerse: To put something completely under a liquid, or to get lost in an activity.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test