fabulist

American  

[fab-yuh-list] / ˈfæb yə lɪst /

noun

1. a person who invents or relates fables.

2. a liar.

---

fabulist British  

/ ˈfæbjʊlɪst /

noun

1. a person who invents or recounts fables

2. a person who lies or falsifies

---

Etymology

Origin of fabulist

1585–95; < Middle French fabuliste, equivalent to < fābul ( a ) fable + -iste -ist

Explanation

A fabulist is a storyteller. Your uncle who spends holiday gatherings telling stories that end with clear morals is a fabulist, and so is your cousin who invents long, complicated excuses for being late to school every morning. Someone who writes or recites fables — moralistic tales that often feature animals as characters — is one kind of fabulist. The ancient Greek fabulist Aesop, for example, composed many stories about talking animals that ended with important moral lessons. Another kind of fabulist is a person who tells tall tales, or who lies. The root of fabulist is the Old French fable, "lie or pretense," from the Latin fabula, "story, play, or tale," or literally, "that which is told."

Example Sentences

Over the past several years, Torres has established himself as a premier comic fabulist.

From New York Times • Jun. 6, 2024

There is no substantive evidence to support his fabulist conspiratorial delusions-fantasies of persecution and other harm.

From Salon • May 2, 2024

“Mother Doll” isn’t a ghost story but a meticulously layered tale of fabulist historical fiction where the details of the Russian Revolution are related with the same depth of detail as a trip to Disneyland.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2024

The candidates were competing to replace George Santos, a serial fabulist who made the district a national laughingstock, and an Election Day snowstorm gave Suozzi an 11th-hour boost.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 14, 2024

But his real sphere was that of fabulist.

From A Survey of Russian Literature, with Selections by Hapgood, Isabel Florence