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

Don't fall for the fairy tale going around that offshore drilling will lessen our dependence on foreign oil …

—Reginald T. Dogan

Synonyms of fairy-tale

Noun

• lie
• tale
• story

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

Pattinson has the passive-aggressive cadence and trolling thunder of the real thing down pat, with more than a bit of fairy-tale troll thrown in for good measure. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2026

Phoebe Dynevor and Cameron Fuller’s fairy-tale wedding was a Bridgerton fantasy come to life. — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 17 Sep. 2026

Noun

He’s made elegant additions, too, such as stitching in a lovely fairy tale that Ionesco wrote for his daughter and staging it with a whimsical storm of soap bubbles. — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2026

Claudia is a child who is never able to grow up, and there’s something fairy tale-ish and ghoulish about it. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1904, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1635, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for fairy-tale

• abigail
• cottontail
• countervail
• fingernail
• martingale
• mesoscale
• microscale
• monorail
• nanoscale
• ponytail
• swallowtail
• wensleydale

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