Did You Know?

Fey is a word that defies its own meaning, since it has yet to even come close to the brink of death after being in our language for well over 800 years. In Old and Middle English it meant "feeble" or "sickly." Those meanings turned out to be fey themselves, but the word lived on in senses related to death, and because a wild or elated state of mind was once believed to portend death, other senses arose from these. The word fay, meaning "fairy" or "elf," may also have had an influence on some senses of "fey." Not until the late 20th century did the word's most recent meanings, "precious" and "campy," find their way onto the pages of the dictionary.

Examples of fey in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Back at work, she is eyed by her co-workers, the wonderfully fey Shane (Griffin Matthews) and the middle-aged worrier Megan (the terrific Rosie Perez). — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, "A Hot Mess Caught in a Caper in “The Flight Attendant”," 28 Dec. 2020 His business rivals include the louche Chinese gangster Dry Eye (Crazy Rich Asians’ Henry Golding) and a drab little ferret of a man called Matthew (Succession star Jeremy Strong, who delivers every line in a sort of strange, fey deadpan). — Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, "Guy Ritchie gets his gangster ya-yas out again in The Gentlemen: Review," 23 Jan. 2020 But on the biographical front, the popular image of Dickinson as a fragile, fey, romantically disappointed recluse has been harder to shake. — Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, "A Very Modern Emily Dickinson (Twerking Included)," 30 Oct. 2019 And then there’s Brooks Ashmanskas as Ronnie Wilde: Martin’s fake boyfriend and instructor in all things fey. — Jesse Green, New York Times, "Onstage, the New Gay Agenda Involves Cake and Not Getting Fired," 8 July 2018 To some readers, Ms Moshfegh’s premise may seem fey and slight. — The Economist, "Ottessa Moshfegh’s second novel is as arresting as her first," 12 July 2018 New wavers like Depeche Mode knit the supposedly frivolous and fey sounds of disco into their gloom. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "What Linkin Park Gave to Pop Music," 25 June 2018 Giacometti was a master of affixing tiny animals and curling leaves to the bronze framework of his designs, lending them a fey quality; Anthonioz eschews ornament, preferring sleek minimalist shapes. — Nancy Hass, New York Times, "Inside a Parisian Sculptor’s World of Wonders," 21 Feb. 2018 However, according to the Daily Mail, Wenger himself (along with a fey key people) knew that his time at the club was up an entire month ago. — SI.com, "Report Claims Arsene Wenger Made Decision to Leave Arsenal a Month Ago Over Fears of Being Sacked," 23 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fey.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.