Meaning & use
myth
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Meanings
nouncountable
A traditional story, usually about gods, heroes or the origins of things, that people have handed down for ages.
Grammar: Often followed by of: the myth of Icarus.
Patterns
- the myth of someone
- a creation myth
The Greek myth of Persephone explains the changing of the seasons.
Every culture has a myth about how the world began.
Children in the class acted out an ancient myth.
nouncountable
A common belief that many people accept but that is actually false.
Grammar: Often with a verb like dispel or debunk: debunk a myth.
Patterns
- the myth that something
- dispel a myth
It is a myth that we only use ten percent of our brains.
The article debunks the myth that cold weather causes colds.
Many people still believe the myth that lightning never strikes twice.
nouncountable or uncountable
A set of stories and beliefs about a person or group that makes them seem greater than they really are.
Grammar: Often used with build or create: the myth of the self-made man.
Patterns
- build a myth around someone
Fans built a myth around the singer after his death.
The myth of the lone genius hides the teamwork behind big discoveries.
He lived long enough to see himself become a myth.
Word forms
| plural | myths |
|---|
Common combinations
- dispel a myth
- The study dispels a myth about sleep.
- debunk a myth
- The show debunks common myths about food.
- creation myth
- Each tribe tells its own creation myth.
- popular myth
- It is a popular myth that bats are blind.
- urban myth
- The story about alligators in sewers is an urban myth.
- Greek myth
- We read a Greek myth in class.
Synonyms and how they differ
- legend
- A legend is a story about a person or place that may have a base in history, while a myth is more often about gods or origins.
- fable
- A fable is a short story with a moral, often with animals, and not mainly a story of belief.
- fallacy
- A fallacy is a mistaken belief or faulty argument, and carries no sense of a traditional story.
- misconception
- A misconception is a mistaken idea that someone holds, usually by error rather than because of a popular tale.
Opposites
Word family
- mythical adjective
- existing only in myths
- mythology noun
- a collection of myths
- mythic adjective
- like a myth, grand
- demythologize verb
- to strip of mythical elements
- mythologize verb
- to turn into a myth
Commonly confused: myth or moth?
myth vs moth
A moth is an insect, pronounced /mɒθ/ in British English, while myth /mɪθ/ is a story or false belief.
Practice
In the sentence It is a myth that sugar makes children hyperactive, what does myth mean?
Choose one answer.
Here myth means a common belief that is false. The story-about-gods meaning does not fit the claim being discussed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “myth”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.