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fabulate

/ˈfæbyəˌleɪt/
IPA guide

Other forms: fabulated; fabulates; fabulating

To fabulate is to tell a tall tale — in other words, to lie. You might be tempted to fabulate a story about why you don't have your homework, but you should probably just tell the truth.

Fabulate shares a Latin root, fabula, "story or tale," with fable. Strictly speaking, when someone writes or tells fables along the lines of The Tortoise and the Hare, they fabulate. More often, it's a fancy way to describe what a liar does: "He fabulated his entire resume, claiming he went to Harvard and served in the Peace Corps before he turned 21!"

Definitions of fabulate
  1. verb
    make up something artificial or untrue
    see moresee less
    types:
    mythologise, mythologize
    construct a myth
    confabulate
    unconsciously replace fact with fantasy in one's memory
    concoct, trump up
    invent
    spin
    make up a story
    vamp, vamp up
    make up
    type of:
    concoct, dream up, hatch, think of, think up
    devise or invent
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘fabulate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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