SKIP TO CONTENT

fabulist

/ˈfæbjələst/
IPA guide

Other forms: fabulists

A fabulist is a storyteller. Your uncle who spends holiday gatherings telling stories that end with clear morals is a fabulist, and so is your cousin who invents long, complicated excuses for being late to school every morning.

Someone who writes or recites fables — moralistic tales that often feature animals as characters — is one kind of fabulist. The ancient Greek fabulist Aesop, for example, composed many stories about talking animals that ended with important moral lessons. Another kind of fabulist is a person who tells tall tales, or who lies. The root of fabulist is the Old French fable, "lie or pretense," from the Latin fabula, "story, play, or tale," or literally, "that which is told."

Definitions of fabulist
  1. noun
    a person who tells or invents fables
    see moresee less
    examples:
    Aesop
    Greek author of fables (circa 620-560 BC)
    type of:
    narrator, storyteller, teller
    someone who tells a story
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘fabulist'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family