: characteristic of or suitable to a fairy tale
especially
: marked by seemingly unreal beauty, perfection, luck, or happiness
led a fairy-tale life
a store clerk's fairy-tale romance
1
a
: a story (as for children) involving fantastic forces and beings (such as fairies, wizards, and goblins)
enjoyed the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid"
called also fairy story
b
: a story in which improbable events lead to a happy ending
those balletic fairy tales in which a new corps member steps in for an injured principal at the last minute and delivers a splendid performance—
Margaret Willis
Margaret Willis2
: a made-up story usually designed to mislead
an old-fashioned fairy tale depicting revolutionists as demigods—Jonathan Zimmerman
Jonathan ZimmermanSynonyms
Examples of fairy-tale in a Sentence
Noun
the fairy tale about the sleeping princess
Everything he told us about his happy marriage was just a fairy tale.
Recent Examples on the WebBecca Longmire, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
This fairy-tale cottage gazebo illustrates how to dress for success.
—Abby Wolner, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 May 2024
Bayer Leverkusen, instead, has stepped up, a fairy-tale success story that reads like a searing critique at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park, crystallizing a sense of waywardness, of lost purpose, that has been festering for some time.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 3 May 2024
America seemed headed for an economic fairy-tale ending in late 2023.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Tripadvisor recently featured 10 spectacular, open-to-the-public castles in Europe, Japan and here in California as the best places to conjure fairy-tale dreams.
—Jackie Burrell, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
Her films, although typically set in or near the present day, are suffused with an almost primordial air of fairy-tale enchantment.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024
The former Kate Middleton, who married William in a fairy-tale wedding in 2011, has boosted the popularity and appeal of the British monarchy worldwide more than any royal since Princess Diana.
—arkansasonline.com, 22 Mar. 2024
The perfectly orchestrated fairy-tale grandeur (combined with copious media coverage) has fueled a longstanding fascination with the royals.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024
Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 7 May 2024
The rapper carried a fabric bouquet made up of the Flor de Maga, which is the national flower of Puerto Rico; along with a rose, and a flax plant, which is what Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on in the original fairy tale, according to Vogue.
—Tabitha Parent, Peoplemag, 6 May 2024
Think of the Met Gala as a royal ball in fairy tale movies.
—Mariyam Muhammad, The Enquirer, 6 May 2024
Many of the most fragile garments have to be displayed lying down, inside glass boxes, much like the titular fairy tale character.
—Vogue, 6 May 2024
Camp: Notes on Fashion For the 2019 event, the former Disney star went full fairy tale camp by donning an illuminated Cinderella gown made custom by Tommy Hilfiger.
—Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 May 2024
While there are narrative threads and elaborate ideas, Meow Wolf spaces are essentially places of wonder, where dozens of disparate artists come together to create something akin to an explorable fairy tale.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024
The fairy tale that the human race has evolved beyond such barbarism was shattered (again) last week when reports surfaced that three mass burial sites had been unearthed in Gaza.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2024
In Picture a day like this, the child’s death is not explained: as in a fairy tale, the bald fact of loss is announced at the outset and never accounted for.
—Matthew Aucoin, The New York Review of Books, 15 Feb. 2024
Adjective
The Kardashians star added a matching lace mini skirt and ivory Vivienne Westwood mini handbag to complete the fairy-tale look.
—Becca Longmire, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
This fairy-tale cottage gazebo illustrates how to dress for success.
—Abby Wolner, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 May 2024
Bayer Leverkusen, instead, has stepped up, a fairy-tale success story that reads like a searing critique at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park, crystallizing a sense of waywardness, of lost purpose, that has been festering for some time.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 3 May 2024
America seemed headed for an economic fairy-tale ending in late 2023.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Tripadvisor recently featured 10 spectacular, open-to-the-public castles in Europe, Japan and here in California as the best places to conjure fairy-tale dreams.
—Jackie Burrell, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
Her films, although typically set in or near the present day, are suffused with an almost primordial air of fairy-tale enchantment.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024
The former Kate Middleton, who married William in a fairy-tale wedding in 2011, has boosted the popularity and appeal of the British monarchy worldwide more than any royal since Princess Diana.
—arkansasonline.com, 22 Mar. 2024
The perfectly orchestrated fairy-tale grandeur (combined with copious media coverage) has fueled a longstanding fascination with the royals.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024
Noun
May 7, 2024 In 2019 Hannah Brown was in the middle of her very own fairy tale.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 7 May 2024
The rapper carried a fabric bouquet made up of the Flor de Maga, which is the national flower of Puerto Rico; along with a rose, and a flax plant, which is what Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on in the original fairy tale, according to Vogue.
—Tabitha Parent, Peoplemag, 6 May 2024
Think of the Met Gala as a royal ball in fairy tale movies.
—Mariyam Muhammad, The Enquirer, 6 May 2024
Many of the most fragile garments have to be displayed lying down, inside glass boxes, much like the titular fairy tale character.
—Vogue, 6 May 2024
Camp: Notes on Fashion For the 2019 event, the former Disney star went full fairy tale camp by donning an illuminated Cinderella gown made custom by Tommy Hilfiger.
—Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 May 2024
While there are narrative threads and elaborate ideas, Meow Wolf spaces are essentially places of wonder, where dozens of disparate artists come together to create something akin to an explorable fairy tale.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024
The fairy tale that the human race has evolved beyond such barbarism was shattered (again) last week when reports surfaced that three mass burial sites had been unearthed in Gaza.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2024
In Picture a day like this, the child’s death is not explained: as in a fairy tale, the bald fact of loss is announced at the outset and never accounted for.
—Matthew Aucoin, The New York Review of Books, 15 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fairy-tale.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fairy-tale
Cite this Entry
“Fairy-tale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fairy-tale. Accessed 17 May. 2024.
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