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myth

myth

343 3.8
A false idea that many people believe
  • noun
  • /mɪθ/
: mito
  • Which of these widespread myths is actually true?
  • the myth of democracy
  • racial myths
  • dispel a myth

Which of these widespread myths is actually true?

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Examples

  • Why are you both propagating these myths?

  • We will test this myth of slave brotherhood.

  • I have had it with the myth of work life balance.

  • Those stories were just a myth.

  • And you can safely avoid these myths if you hear them.

  • The myth of democracy is always in tension with the myth of religious liberty, of course.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Contrary to popular New York myth, the Times is not omniscient.

  • Forget the myths the media's created about the White House.

  • That's also a myth and not at all true.

  • Many people believe in the myth that you can get rich quick without hard work.

Synonyms

rumor
vsmyth
  • US
865 1.2

A story or piece of news that people pass on but may not be true

is more an accepted false belief or traditional story rather than mere gossip
legend
vsmyth
  • Literature
365 3.9

An old story about the past that may include magic or gods

is commonly a false or widely believed idea rather than verifiable history
fantasy
vsmyth
73 3.7

A wrong idea that many people believe

is a widely believed false idea rather than a private imagination
fairy tale
vsmyth
  • Informal
40 3.4

A made-up story told to hide the truth or deceive people

is a commonly believed false idea or traditional tale, not just excuse
fable
vsmyth
36 4.9

A false story told to trick or impress people

covers widely believed false ideas as cultural belief, not only moral tales
urban legend
vsmyth
36 4.3

A story many people believe that is probably not true, often about scary or strange events

is a widely held false belief or traditional story rather than just rumor
fairytale
vsmyth
  • Informal
27 4.6

A made-up story used to avoid blame or trick people

is the broader idea of a widely accepted false belief or story
fairy story
vsmyth
  • UK
1 5.5

A made up story told to hide the truth

is a widely held false belief or a traditional story, not only excuse
mythic tale
vsmyth
  • Literature
1 6.2

A story passed down about gods, heroes, or magic

is a widely believed false idea as well as a traditional narrative

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

Something that can be shown to be true, not an opinion

∞ 1.0

A fact that shows how things really are

Compounds

myth and legend
  • Literature
5 3.9

Traditional stories people tell to explain past events or cultural beliefs, often not true

How False

fabrication
31 6.5
falsehood
44 4.3
myth
343 3.8
misconception
76 4.2
to rumor
  • US
76 3.9

Surface Forms

myth singular
myths plural

Etymology

Myth also took a second meaning because many old myths were not meant to be taken as literal facts, and so myth can mean a 'widely held but false belief'. That's why we now call common but untrue ideas 'myths'.