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.
Mr. Spielberg combined fairy tale with sci-fi beautifully in his 2001 masterpiece, “A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
But as “The Theater” reveals, Mariupol is no fairy tale.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
Their suspicious acceptance more readily hints at the painful reality underneath this modest fairy tale.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 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
A fairy tale that started with “once upon a time” and ended with “happily ever after.”
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
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.
