: 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
Chrissie McClatchie, Travel + Leisure, 6 July 2025
Also two of the tycoon’s grandchildren, little fairy-tale blondies just made to be eaten.
—David Denby, Vulture, 3 July 2025
Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
The official synopsis for season three of Ginny & Georgia, as per Netflix, reads:
Georgia has just been arrested for murder during her wedding - ruining her fairy tale ending and putting the spotlight on the Millers like never before.
—Billie Melissa, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for fairy-tale
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Adjective
It's capped at 50 people per session, but a second property opening in a similarly fairy-tale French setting, in the Ariège region of southwest France, in 2026 will hopefully ease some of the pressure on the waitlist.
—Chrissie McClatchie, Travel + Leisure, 6 July 2025
Also two of the tycoon’s grandchildren, little fairy-tale blondies just made to be eaten.
—David Denby, Vulture, 3 July 2025
Noun
Early buzz suggests a darkly comedic fairy tale about a father (Paul Rudd) and daughter (Jenna Ortega) who stumble upon a unicorn carcass.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
The official synopsis for season three of Ginny & Georgia, as per Netflix, reads:
Georgia has just been arrested for murder during her wedding - ruining her fairy tale ending and putting the spotlight on the Millers like never before.
—Billie Melissa, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 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 23 Jul. 2025.
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