Myth

Quick meaning: Myth is a noun meaning (uncountable) Such stories as a genre.

Meaning

(uncountable) Such stories as a genre.

More Meanings

1. A person or thing held in excessive or quasi-religious awe or admiration based on popular legend
2. A person or thing existing only in imagination, or whose actual existence is not verifiable.
3. An invented story, theory, or concept.
4. A commonly-held but false belief, a common misconception; a fictitious or imaginary person or thing; a popular conception about a real person or event which exaggerates or idealizes reality.
5. A traditional story which embodies a belief regarding some fact or phenomenon of experience, and in which often the forces of nature and of the soul are personified; a sacred narrative regarding a god, a hero, the origin of the world or of a people, etc.

Example Sentences

His story is a pure myth.

As for Mrs. Primmins's bones, they had been myths these twenty years.

Scientists debunk the myth that gum stays in the human stomach for seven years.

Father Flanagan was legendary, his institution an American myth. (Tucson (Arizona) Citizen, 20 September 1979, 5A/3, cited after OED)

Word Forms

• myths
• mythe

Synonyms for myth

Depending on context, synonyms include misconception.

Antonyms for myth

Common opposites include antimyth.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include mythology, mythical, mythic, superstition, utopia, fable.

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