fairy tale
noun
a story, usually for children, about elves, hobgoblins, dragons, fairies, or other magical creatures.
Jump To:
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fairy tale
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fairy-tale
fairy-taleadjectiveof or relating to a fairy tale
fairy tale
American
[fair-ee teyl]
/ ˈfɛər i ˌteɪl /
noun
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fairy tales
plural
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a story, usually for children, about elves, hobgoblins, dragons, fairies, or other magical creatures.
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an incredible or misleading statement, account, or belief.
His story of being a millionaire is just a fairy tale.
adjective
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of, relating to, or suggesting a fairy tale.
a fairy-tale castle.
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idealized or romantic, often to an unrealistic extent.
Many people still want to believe in true love and fairy-tale endings.
fairy-tale
1
British
adjective
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of or relating to a fairy tale
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resembling a fairy tale, esp in being extremely happy or fortunate
a true story with a fairy-tale ending
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highly improbable
he came out with a fairy-tale account of his achievements
fairy tale
2
British
noun
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a story about fairies or other mythical or magical beings, esp one of traditional origin told to children
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a highly improbable account
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fairy tale
First recorded in 1740–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The documentary soon evolved from a potential fairy tale into a rumination on one question: “When his body is saying ‘stop,’ why does he decide to keep going?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
But these narratives tell you nothing more than that Wall Street’s brokers were exposed at impressionable ages to the Goldilocks fairy tale.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
After Burton's fairy tale cup run finally ended, Clough said that Pep Guardiola invited him in for a glass of wine and quipped he hoped the Spaniard had "more than a glass."
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
For those who really read it without the false sense of reverence imbued by generations, Homer’s poem has the feel of a fairy tale.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
One evening as we all sat grouped around the stove I told the kids a fairy tale I’d just read.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
Although the film was Tom Cruise’s earliest foray into action-adventure, emerging before 1986’s “Top Gun” buried its cultural legacy, any fresh Hollywood face could have played Scott’s fairy-tale hero.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Gleiberman added that the film "truly delivers 'Moana' - the beauty, the comic personality, the fairy-tale enchantment", and described Johnson's "fit" for the film as "perfect".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Pictures show an exterior that conjures up images of a fairy-tale cottage hidden away among the trees, while the interior is a vibrant rainbow of colors, textures, and decor.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 17, 2026
Barnum gradually expanded these gardens to include museums and theaters, where families could do everything from gawking at unusual people or animals to watching performances of fairy-tale characters like Aladdin or Goldilocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
It’s not even just about the true-love-heart-eyes-get-a-room-dudes fairy-tale magic.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
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.
