fairy-tale

1 of 2

adjective

ˈfer-ē-ˌtāl 

: 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

fairy tale

2 of 2

noun

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

2

: a made-up story usually designed to mislead

an old-fashioned fairy tale depicting revolutionists as demigods

—Jonathan Zimmerman

Synonyms

Noun

• fable
• fabrication
• falsehood
• falsity
• fib
• lie
• mendacity
• prevarication
• story
• tale
• taradiddle
• tarradiddle
• untruth
• whopper

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 Web

Adjective

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

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1904, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1635, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

fairy tale

noun

1

: a simple children's story about imaginary beings

called also fairy story

2

: a made-up story usually meant to mislead