fairy tale
- 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.
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Origin of fairy tale
First recorded in 1740–50
Also called fairy story.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
exotic, whimsical, glamorous, amorous, fascinating, colorful, exciting, fantastic, charming, dreamy, tender, erotic, fanciful, maudlin, corny, mysterious, nostalgic, passionate, adventurous, utopianExamples from the Web for fairy-tale
Contemporary Examples
Were the fairy-tale true it really would shame the affluent west.
The first tradition, in fairy-tale terms, is the villain tradition.
Alleged Santa Barbara Killer Elliot Rodger and the Twisted Cult of Modern MasculinityJames Poulos
May 26, 2014
The story of Singh and Patel is a heartwarming one, and perfectly fits into the mold of a fairy-tale Disney sports film.
Bernheimer is a well-known American fairy-tale writer, and Hunt is the editor of the Denver Quarterly.
Then she suffers a fairy-tale rescue at the hands of an aunt.
Historical Examples
The tale of the resources of California—vegetable and mineral—is a fairy-tale.
American NotesRudyard Kipling
Our fairy-tale presents these events in their legendary transformation.
The Chinese Fairy BookVarious
Thrones tumble down and crowns are offered like a fairy-tale.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume IIMrs. Humphry Ward
He must have seemed to her a figure of romance, a prince out of a fairy-tale.
The Historical Nights Entertainment, Second SeriesRafael Sabatini
The value of the fairy-tale and the wonder-tale is that they tell about the magic of living.
fairy-tale
- of or relating to a fairy tale
- resembling a fairy tale, esp in being extremely happy or fortunatea true story with a fairy-tale ending
- highly improbablehe came out with a fairy-tale account of his achievements
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fairy tale
fairy story
- a story about fairies or other mythical or magical beings, esp one of traditional origin told to children
- a highly improbable account
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for fairy-tale
fairy tale
n.
"oral narrative centered on magical tests, quests, and transformations," 1749, translating French Conte de feés of Madame d'Aulnois (1698, translated into English 1699). As an adjective (also fairytale), attested by 1963.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper