Meaning & use
myths
Last updated
“myths” is a form of “myth”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Traditional stories, often about gods, heroes or the origin of things, that a culture has passed down over many generations.
Grammar: Plural of myth: Greek myths, creation myths.
Patterns
- myths about something
- myths of a culture
Ancient Greek myths explain how the seasons began.
Many cultures have myths about a great flood.
Our teacher read us myths from several countries.
nounplural
Widely held beliefs that are not true, even though many people accept them.
Grammar: Often 'myths about something': myths about sleep.
Patterns
- myths about something
- dispel myths
One of the biggest myths is that we only use ten percent of our brains.
The article exposes common myths about healthy eating.
Scientists try to dispel myths about vaccines.
Word forms
| singular | myth |
|---|
Common combinations
- Greek myths
- We studied Greek myths in school.
- dispel myths
- The campaign aims to dispel myths about the disease.
- common myths
- Here are five common myths about money.
- creation myths
- Creation myths try to explain how the world began.
- debunk myths
- The show debunks popular myths using experiments.
Synonyms and how they differ
- legends
- Legends are stories claimed to be based on real people or events, while myths usually involve gods or symbolic explanations.
- fables
- Fables are short stories with a moral, often with talking animals, while myths explain the world or beliefs.
- misconceptions
- Misconceptions refers only to mistaken ideas, whereas myths can also be whole traditional stories.
- fallacies
- Fallacies are errors in reasoning or false beliefs, which is more formal than myths.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: myths or mist? myths or miss?
myths vs mist
Mist is thin fog; myths are stories or false beliefs. They look and sound somewhat similar in some accents.
myths vs miss
Miss means fail to hit or catch, or feel the lack of someone; it is unrelated to myths.
Practice
The doctor explained that many popular ____ about colds, such as the idea that cold weather causes them, are false.
Choose one answer.
Myths are widely believed but untrue ideas. Facts are true, and rules or laws do not describe false beliefs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “myths”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.