parable

American  

[par-uh-buhl] / ˈpær ə bəl /

noun

• parables
  plural

1. a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.

   Synonyms:

   apologue, homily, allegory

2. a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.

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parable British  

/ ˈpærəbəl /

noun

1. a short story that uses familiar events to illustrate a religious or ethical point

2. any of the stories of this kind told by Jesus Christ

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• parabolist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• parables
  plural

Etymology

Origin of parable

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English parabil, from Late Latin parabola “allegory, comparison, word,” from Greek parabolḗ “comparison,” from para- para- ¹ + bolḗ “a throw”

Compare meaning

How does parable compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• allegory vs. parable

Explanation

A parable is a short and simple story that teaches a religious or moral lesson. The parable of the Good Samaritan and the parable of the Prodigal Son are just two examples of the many parables attributed to Jesus, as recorded in the four gospels. Parable descends from the Greek parabolē, "a comparison, analogy," from paraballein, "to compare," from the prefix para-, "beside," plus ballein, "to throw." The sense of comparing, or throwing an idea beside another, is at the heart of the word. When you hear a parable, you're meant to use the comparison to learn how to act — the fox's "sour grapes" are compared to your own downgrading of the thing you cannot have.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parable parables

With this intimate, painful epiphany, the show’s larger parable about obligingly submitting to ahistorical ignorance is blunted with a spiritually benevolent ideal.

From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026

The film is, he said, is "another parable of parental crisis dressed up as a brightly coloured family adventure" - and a "cautionary tale about online childhoods".

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

Warren Buffett’s mentor Benjamin Graham used the parable of a business owner with an emotionally unstable partner, “Mr. Market.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

In Matthew’s Gospel the virtuous figure of the parable is the first son, the one who initially refused his father’s instructions but then did his will after all.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026

Recounted in numberless articles and books, the Maya collapse has become an ecological parable for green activists; along with Pleistocene overkill, it is a favorite cautionary tale about surpassing the limits of Nature.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Kafka’s parables of angst and displacement are naturally diasporic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

His genial demeanour and penchant for folksy parables belie a past as a wily guerrilla fighter and ruthless political survivor.

From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026

I was so green in the world that I hadn’t accepted there could be parables without a moral, questions without an answer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2025

But Martin’s stories, along with being informed by actual history, are parables of power struggles among the ruling classes.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2024

As for this truck-and-fanbelt story, the Reverend loved to speak in parables, and we could surely spot one coming.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• fable
• tale