Meaning & use
mythology
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A collection of traditional stories, especially about gods and heroes, belonging to a particular culture.
Grammar: Can be used as a countable noun (a mythology, mythologies) or uncountable (the study of mythology).
Patterns
- Greek mythology
- Norse mythology
- in mythology
In Greek mythology, Zeus is the king of the gods.
She studied the mythology of ancient Egypt.
The dragon appears in many mythologies around the world.
nouncountable or uncountable
A set of widely believed but false or exaggerated ideas about someone or something.
Grammar: Often used with 'the' and 'surrounding' or 'around': the mythology surrounding a celebrity.
Patterns
- the mythology surrounding something
- the mythology around someone
- create a mythology
The mythology surrounding the band's early years is mostly untrue.
He wanted to correct the mythology about his business success.
The movie helped create a new mythology around the old west.
Word forms
| plural | mythologies |
|---|
Common combinations
- Greek mythology
- He knows all the stories from Greek mythology.
- Norse mythology
- Thor is a famous figure in Norse mythology.
- the mythology surrounding
- The mythology surrounding the president's death continues to grow.
- classical mythology
- She teaches a course on classical mythology.
Synonyms and how they differ
- legend
- A single story, not a whole collection; mythology is the entire body of such stories.
- folklore
- Broader; it includes myths, legends, fairy tales, and customs of a people.
- myth
- One traditional story or a widely believed false idea; mythology is the whole set.
Opposites
Word family
- myth noun
- A traditional story or a false belief.
- mythical adjective
- Existing only in myths or imagined.
- mythological adjective
- Relating to mythology.
- mythologist noun
- A person who studies myths.
Commonly confused: mythology or myth?
mythology vs myth
A myth is one story or one false belief; mythology is the whole collection or study of myths.
Practice
The book explores the mythology of ancient Rome. What does 'mythology' mean here?
Choose one answer.
Mythology refers to the collection of traditional stories, especially about gods and heroes. Option 3 is the second sense, but the phrase 'ancient Rome' points to the stories, not modern false beliefs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mythology”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.