: 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 ZimmermanExamples 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 Web
Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Doldinger’s original score was a classical European affair, with sweeping strings and brass-heavy cues (with only the occasional synth coloring) inspired by the film’s fairy-tale origins.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Oct. 2025
Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
Will there be future fairy tales about birds whose feathers glow in the dark nesting in the ruins of primitive power plants of past ages?
—Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fairy-tale
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Adjective
Early travelers remarked on the fairy-tale character of rustic stone villages and the awe-inspiring beauty of the Accursed Mountains.
—Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Doldinger’s original score was a classical European affair, with sweeping strings and brass-heavy cues (with only the occasional synth coloring) inspired by the film’s fairy-tale origins.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Oct. 2025
Noun
Based on the stage musical by Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods is a modern twist on classic fairy tales.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
Will there be future fairy tales about birds whose feathers glow in the dark nesting in the ruins of primitive power plants of past ages?
—Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fairy-tale
Cite this Entry
“Fairy-tale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fairy-tale. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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