as in playful
given to good-natured joking or teasing
with her slight build and perky manner, the actress was usually cast as the fay young woman who charms all the men in town
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in fairy
an imaginary being usually having a small human form and magical powers
in the tale a fay appears in the form of a beautiful and serene woman with an angelic air and a billowy gown
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fay
Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
Almshouse dwellers, sitting in the sun, watching the surging tide and the glistening water, tell of spirits and banshees and fays.
—Alexander Sammon, Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2022
Noun
The series stars McGregor as Count Rostov, a fay member of Czarist Russia’s ruling class, who was living in comfort in his estates until the revolution of 1917 overthrew the old order.
—Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
Almshouse dwellers, sitting in the sun, watching the surging tide and the glistening water, tell of spirits and banshees and fays.
—Alexander Sammon, Harper's Magazine, 25 June 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fay
Adjective
-
The Rabbit Hole is more playful, with its games room, pool table, ping pong and private bar, seemingly designed for long nights and bad decisions.—
Arion McNicoll,
TheWeek,
15 June 2026
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The result was a sleek white ruffled top, when worn with matching trousers felt both modern and refreshing while another floral skirt embodied a playful feminine energy that personified warm weather dressing.—
Diana Tsui,
Footwear News,
15 June 2026
Noun
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The exhibition centers on a film created with generative AI trained on an archive that includes fairy folklore and the Victorian mania for invention.—
Eugenie Brinkema,
ARTnews.com,
14 June 2026
-
Her glam team complemented the off-the-shoulder design with ethereal fairy makeup, including rosy pink blush and shimmering eyeshadow.—
Staff Author,
InStyle,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
Reddit threads and gossip pages are ablaze with speculation about who will get the invite, but Swift seems to be opting for a more-the-merrier approach.—
Anna Grace Lee,
Vogue,
4 June 2026
-
The picture’s eclectic cast, which included Anouk Aimée, Greta Scacchi and Maximilian Schell (with cameos by Faye Dunaway, Holly Hunter and Jeff Goldblum), swirled its merry way across the grand event in search of romance, fame and the ever-elusive movie deal.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Noun
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The bar is decorated with candy canes, stockings, elves, Santas, reindeer, presents and Christmas trees.—
Abby Hamblin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 July 2025
-
The plush toy monster elves come in many different outfits, colors and themes.—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
31 July 2025
Noun
-
And thank the faeries for that.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
-
Set to debut in the spring of 2026, Varga's new novel — a mix of Holly Black's The Cruel Prince and The Mummy — breathes life into Pakistani faerie mythology and explores how history is actually written.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
2 July 2025
Noun
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One goblin shark was spotted near Jarvis Island (halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands) and the other on the slope of the Tonga Trench southeast of Fiji.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
11 June 2026
-
Spielberg turned one of science fiction’s grandest ideas — first contact with alien life — into the story of a boy and his weird little space-faring goblin best friend.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
Noun
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The project, which covers about 1,300 acres in the Boise National Forest near Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area, is primarily meant to remove Douglas fir trees in an attempt to address parasitic dwarf mistletoe and bark beetle damage.—
Nicole Blanchard,
Idaho Statesman,
10 June 2026
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Clues from smaller galaxies To help resolve this mystery, researchers also study much smaller systems, known as dwarf galaxies, which orbit the Milky Way.—
Christopher Karwin,
The Conversation,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fay. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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