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View synonyms for parable

parable

[par-uh-buhl]

noun

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

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



parable

/ ˈpærəbəl, pəˈræbəlɪst /

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

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • parabolist noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of parable1

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”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of parable1

C14: from Old French parabole, from Latin parabola comparison, from Greek parabolē analogy, from paraballein to throw alongside, from para- 1 + ballein to throw
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Compare Meanings

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

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

After 30-plus years, Jim Henson’s creation returns to series TV — as a lavishly produced climate change parable that pays respect to the original.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In these and other parables, Jesus points us to the deficiency of our anthropocentric conception of fairness, directing our attention to something deeper about God’s love.

Much of “Flour” is concerned with the woman’s conversation with her driver about a parable from the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas that he is translating from Coptic—a tale, he says, about emptiness and unknowing.

It stands as a parable of modernism and its reception.

But this is a parable about the perils of public ownership of the means of producing anything, especially news.

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