Parable — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a short moral story (often with animal characters)

(New Testament) any of the stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pˈæɹəbəl/

🇬🇧British English

/pˈaɹəbəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pˈaɹəbəl/

2 syllables Say it as /pˈæɹəbəl/.

Examples

the parable of the prodigal son

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

allegory fable apologue

Parts of Speech

noun	a short moral story (often with animal characters)
noun	(New Testament) any of the stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message “the parable of the prodigal son”

Word Forms

fabulous	adjective	based on or told of in traditional stories; lacking factual basis or historical validity
fabulist	noun	a person who tells or invents fables
parabolic	adjective	resembling or expressed by parables
parabolical	adjective	resembling or expressed by parables
allegorical	adjective	used in or characteristic of or containing allegory
allegorize	verb	interpret as an allegory
allegorise	verb	interpret as an allegory

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Gleichnis

eine kurze moralische Geschichte (oft mit Tierfiguren)

🇫🇷French

parabole

une courte histoire morale (souvent avec des personnages animaux)

🇪🇸Spanish

parábola

una breve historia moral (a menudo con personajes animales)

🇮🇹Italian

parabola

una breve storia morale (spesso con personaggi animali)

🇳🇱Dutch

gelijkenis

een kort moreel verhaal (vaak met dierlijke karakters)

🇵🇹Portuguese

parábola

uma pequena história moral (geralmente com personagens animais)

🇷🇺Russian

притча

короткий моральный рассказ (часто с персонажами-животными)

India

🇮🇳Hindi

दृष्टांत

एक छोटी नैतिक कहानी (अक्सर पशु पात्रों के साथ)

🇧🇩Bengali

দৃষ্টান্ত

একটি ছোট নৈতিক গল্প (প্রায়শই পশু চরিত্রের সাথে)

🇮🇳Tamil

உவமை

ஒரு சிறு தார்மீகக் கதை (பெரும்பாலும் விலங்கு பாத்திரங்களுடன்)

🇮🇳Telugu

ఉపమానం

ఒక చిన్న నైతిక కథ (తరచుగా జంతువుల పాత్రలతో)

🇮🇳Marathi

बोधकथा

एक लहान नैतिक कथा (बहुतेकदा प्राण्यांच्या पात्रांसह)

🇮🇳Gujarati

દૃષ્ટાંત

ટૂંકી નૈતિક વાર્તા (ઘણી વખત પ્રાણી પાત્રો સાથે)

🇮🇳Kannada

ಉಪಮೆ

ಒಂದು ಸಣ್ಣ ನೈತಿಕ ಕಥೆ (ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ)

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഉപമ

ഒരു ചെറിയ ധാർമ്മിക കഥ (പലപ്പോഴും മൃഗങ്ങളുടെ കഥാപാത്രങ്ങൾക്കൊപ്പം)

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟਾਂਤ

ਇੱਕ ਛੋਟੀ ਨੈਤਿਕ ਕਹਾਣੀ (ਅਕਸਰ ਜਾਨਵਰਾਂ ਦੇ ਪਾਤਰਾਂ ਨਾਲ)

🇵🇰Urdu

تمثیل

ایک مختصر اخلاقی کہانی (اکثر جانوروں کے کرداروں کے ساتھ)

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

寓言

一个简短的道德故事（通常有动物角色）

🇯🇵Japanese

たとえ話

短い道徳的な物語（多くの場合、動物の登場人物が登場する）

🇰🇷Korean

우화

짧은 도덕적 이야기(종종 동물 캐릭터 포함)

🇻🇳Vietnamese

chuyện ngụ ngôn

một câu chuyện đạo đức ngắn (thường có nhân vật động vật)

🇹🇭Thai

คำอุปมา

เรื่องศีลธรรมสั้นๆ (มักมีตัวละครสัตว์)

🇮🇩Indonesian

perumpamaan

cerita moral pendek (seringkali dengan karakter binatang)

🇵🇭Filipino

parabula

isang maikling kwentong moral (madalas na may mga karakter ng hayop)

🇲🇾Malay

perumpamaan

cerita moral pendek (selalunya dengan watak haiwan)

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

المثل

قصة أخلاقية قصيرة (غالبًا بشخصيات حيوانية)

🇮🇷Persian

تمثیل

داستان کوتاه اخلاقی (اغلب با شخصیت های حیوانی)

🇹🇷Turkish

benzetme

kısa bir ahlaki hikaye (genellikle hayvan karakterlerle)

🇮🇱Hebrew

מָשָׁל

סיפור מוסרי קצר (לעתים קרובות עם דמויות של חיות)

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'parable'?

The primary meaning of 'parable' is 'a short moral story (often with animal characters)'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'parable' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'parable' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'parable' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'parable' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'parable' in your daily reading?

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Do you find 'parable' easy to spell?

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In your opinion, does the word 'parable' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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