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 bittersweet musical numbers lend all the characters — even the comic-relief ones — some modicum of humanity, and Latif’s playful visual style enhances the ironic elements of the tale.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
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In one image, she’s seated at a table with a cheeseburger on a golden platter, flanked by miniature American and Puerto Rican flags — a playful nod to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Dozens of dogs dressed as alligators, fairies and superheroes gathered Saturday at a Rio de Janeiro Carnival street party as their owners protested cruelty against pets.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Families will find the fairy train running through the trees, and there’s an activities station for children.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
What follows is Rockwell and his merry band of misfits on a madcap romp through a dystopian landscape for a showdown with the future’s artificial nemesis.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Amaryllis flowers and winter greenery make for a merry arrangement.—
Miranda Crowell,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The theft follows a similar incident in December, when members of the same group flooded into a Montreal grocery store dressed as Santa Clause and his elves, stealing food and leaving some of it gift-wrapped under a nearby Christmas tree.—
Max Saltman,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
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One of Magnason’s first jobs was at the National Archives of Iceland, where he was surrounded by books about the old Norse gods, colonial histories, and even stories about elves.—
Marya E. Gates,
IndieWire,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
And thank the faeries for that.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
-
The Unseelie Court is the bastion of malevolent faeries who harm humans for their amusement or to exact revenge.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
27 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
Meet the goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni), a predator so rare that fewer than 250 individuals have ever been recorded worldwide.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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The plot follows a young girl who ends up wishing away her baby brother into the goblin labyrinth.—
Lucia Cheng,
Des Moines Register,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
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This dwarf variety produces slender, upright branches that, if left unpruned, put forth a graceful weeping habit.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
16 Feb. 2026
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Some others that would be affected include dwarf schefflera, dracaenas, begonias, ficus, philodendrons, aglaonemas and peace lilies.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fay. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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