myth

¹

[mith]

noun

1. a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature.

2. stories or matter of this kind.

   realm of myth.

3. any invented story, idea, or concept.

   His account of the event is pure myth.

   Synonyms: fantasy, fiction

4. an imaginary or fictitious thing or person.

5. an unproved or false collective belief that is used to justify a social institution.

myth.

²

abbreviation

1. mythological.

2. mythology.

myth

¹

/ mɪθ /

noun

1. 1. a story about superhuman beings of an earlier age taken by preliterate society to be a true account, usually of how natural phenomena, social customs, etc, came into existence

   2. another word for mythology mythology

2. a person or thing whose existence is fictional or unproven

3. (in modern literature) a theme or character type embodying an idea

   Hemingway's myth of the male hero

4. philosophy (esp in the writings of Plato) an allegory or parable

myth.

²

abbreviation

1. mythological

2. mythology

Other Word Forms

• countermyth noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of myth¹

First recorded in 1820–30; from Late Latin mȳthus, from Greek mŷthos “story, word”

Word History and Origins

Origin of myth¹

C19: via Late Latin from Greek muthos fable, word

Synonym Study

See legend.

Example Sentences

Tragically, the populists’ positions have been based on myths and deceit from the beginning.

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The myth of Hezbollah’s invincibility, carefully cultivated over years, was shattered.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Mr Banayee says he absorbed all kinds of myths, believing that the body of a martyr would not rot and that birds would warn Muslims of incoming bomber aircraft.

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While Mr. Rees is keen to dispel the myths ginned up by imperial writers, he doesn’t prevaricate when the evidence shows that their fears may not have been entirely unfounded.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In 1955 John Kenneth Galbraith punctured one of the strangely enduring myths about the aftermath: that there was a wave of suicides.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• fable 
• fantasy 
• fiction 
• illusion 
• imagination 
• legend 
• lore 
• parable 
• superstition 
• tale 
• tradition