a beautiful princess, the heroine of a popular fairy tale, awakened from a charmed sleep by the kiss of the prince who is her true love.
(italics) the fairy tale itself.
(italics) a ballet (1889) by Tchaikovsky.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A world premiere by Gregory Spears casts a veil of dream-like haunting over the story of Sleeping Beauty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
A worker applies gold detailing to the ornate spires of Sleeping Beauty Castle, showcasing the elegance and precision that defined the centerpiece of Disneyland Park.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
Animals emerge from hibernation, like Sleeping Beauty woken from her death-like 100-year sleep.
From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2025
Over 20 years with the company, he danced leads across several productions, including Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2024
Fig’s list of symptoms ran through my head: Hershey breath, never enough water in his bowl, shrinking appetite, and Sleeping Beauty syndrome.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
“Sleepers Awake” by Gregory Spears, given its world premiere by Opera Philadelphia at the Academy of Music on Wednesday, turns “Sleeping Beauty” on its head.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
“Sleeping Beauty” came from Charles Perrault’s 1697 fairy tale.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 14, 2023
“Of Love and Rage,” Alexei Ratmansky’s story ballet based on a romance novel from Greek antiquity, is having a “Sleeping Beauty” moment.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2022
Did the lounge revival of the ‘90s first stir here, with Sumac’s delirious rendition of a song from “Sleeping Beauty”?
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2020
Mr. S. is the illustrious author of the “Sleeping Beauty” and some Comedies, particularly “Maids and Bachelors.”
From The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor Volume I, Number 1 by Carpenter, S. C. (Stephen Cullen)
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.
