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.
Fairy tale eggplants are hardly a staple of the American dinner table and are nearly nonexistent in supermarkets.
From Washington Post • Jun. 15, 2016
Fairy tale fans will recognize Alice and the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland series and Peter Pan and Captain Hook from the Peter Pan franchise.
From Time • Mar. 29, 2016
Fairy tale plotlines resonate in our Hollywood culture, which believes firmly in the restorative power of second chances and the cauterizing effect of retribution.
From Slate • May 7, 2015
Fairy tale characters come to life in Into the Woods, a film version of Stephen Sondheim's popular Tony-winning musical.
From BBC • Jan. 7, 2015
Beauty and the Beast, or the Magic Rose; an entertaining Fairy tale; with coloured frontispiece.
From Sweets for Leisure Hours Amusing Tales for Little Readers by Phillips, A.
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.
