a story, usually for children, about elves, hobgoblins, dragons, fairies, or other magical creatures.
an incredible or misleading statement, account, or belief.
His story of being a millionaire is just a fairy tale.
of, relating to, or suggesting a fairy tale.
a fairy-tale castle.
idealized or romantic, often to an unrealistic extent.
Many people still want to believe in true love and fairy-tale endings.
of or relating to a fairy tale
resembling a fairy tale, esp in being extremely happy or fortunate
a true story with a fairy-tale ending
highly improbable
he came out with a fairy-tale account of his achievements
a story about fairies or other mythical or magical beings, esp one of traditional origin told to children
a highly improbable account
First recorded in 1740–50
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Wilson says of their immersive storybook escape, which features a delightful hand-painted mural on the walls and tiny lanterns that, when touched, offer a narrated fairy tale.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
In the familiar fairy tale, sleep represents something close to the curse of death; in this version, and in Mr. Spears’s haunting musical landscape, it is a state preferable to waking.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
The fairy tale of the princess and the pea tells of a young royal so sensitive she could detect a tiny pea hidden beneath many mattresses.
From Science Daily • Mar. 16, 2026
Released in 2010, “Tangled” is Disney’s animated take on the fairy tale “Rapunzel,” about a young princess with long blond magical hair who had been unknowingly kidnapped and secreted away in an isolated tower.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
It was like the fairy tale “Cinderella,” in which some sisters are treated well while one must do the housework.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
