: 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 WebLaird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 11 July 2024
The Shrek film franchise began life under Jeffrey Katzenberg’s tutelage with the 2001 film that was praised for its animation style and for playing with fairy-tale tropes.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 July 2024
Alejandra Díaz Mattoni, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024
Her forays into fairy tale stories and children’s entertainment extended far beyond Fairie Tale Theatre, too, with projects like Tall Tales & Legends, Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme, Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories, and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 12 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for fairy-tale 
Adjective
The electrifying debut of the Ballet Russes in Paris in 1909 undoubtedly changed the course of culture and fashion; the fairy-tale and far-away fantasies on the stage seeped into the styles of the day, with ripple effects.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 11 July 2024
The Shrek film franchise began life under Jeffrey Katzenberg’s tutelage with the 2001 film that was praised for its animation style and for playing with fairy-tale tropes.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 July 2024
Noun
The fairy tale has come true; my prince has arrived.
—Alejandra Díaz Mattoni, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024
Her forays into fairy tale stories and children’s entertainment extended far beyond Fairie Tale Theatre, too, with projects like Tall Tales & Legends, Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme, Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories, and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 12 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for fairy-tale
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 26 Jul. 2024.
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