myth

¹ American  

[mith] / mɪθ /

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.

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myth. ² American  

abbreviation

1. mythological.

2. mythology.

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myth ¹ British  

/ 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

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myth. ² British  

abbreviation

1. mythological

2. mythology

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Related Words

See legend.

Other Word Forms

• countermyth noun

Etymology

Origin of myth

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

Example Sentences

More: The small-cap ‘recovery’ is a myth built on unprofitable stocks.

From MarketWatch

But they helped to burnish the myth of intellectual genius that was also essential to his rise.

From The Wall Street Journal

In this remote region, foreigners are rare and myths persistent.

From Barron's

But it was the later coup, led by senior military commanders, that turned into "the founding myth of Spanish democracy", said Javier Cercas, whose book "Anatomy of an Instant" details the events of February 1981.

From Barron's

“She didn’t want you to be able to identify with him. She wanted the emphasis on Little Sorrel rather than the myth of the man,” Hamza Walker explained of Kara Walker’s intentions.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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