fairy tale

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fairy tale ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

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. 2019

Related Words for fairytale

exotic, whimsical, glamorous, amorous, fascinating, colorful, exciting, fantastic, charming, dreamy, tender, erotic, fanciful, maudlin, corny, mysterious, nostalgic, passionate, adventurous, utopian

Examples from the Web for fairytale

Contemporary Examples of fairytale

Still, despite the fairytale, campaigns pour good money after bad to lure this vote.
Reality Check: There Are No Swing Voters
Goldie Taylor
November 13, 2014
Newsweek tries to argue that its survey shows that we no longer believe in ‘the fairytale’ of William and Kate.
Newsweek's Nonsense "Who'd Be Kate" Survey
Tom Sykes
September 26, 2014
This fairytale of a cosmopolitan-cultural-melting-pot that is the envy of the international community certainly has its charms.
Ellis Island’s Doubled-Edged Legacy
J.P. O’Malley
May 25, 2014
It looks a bit like a beautiful tablecloth, laid out on the floor for a fairytale picnic.
Here Comes the Bride…In Flaming Red: Two Centuries of Colorful Wedding Dresses
Liza Foreman
May 7, 2014
It hosts a big, public wedding to remind everyone that it can, as a statement of power, not a fairytale.
The Cult of Royal Porn
Tim Teeman
April 26, 2014

Historical Examples of fairytale

I should reply, Read Undine: that is a fairytale; then read this and that as well, and you will see what is a fairytale.
A Dish Of Orts
George MacDonald
Suppose my child ask me what the fairytale means, what am I to say?
A Dish Of Orts
George MacDonald
You write as if a fairytale were a thing of importance: must it have a meaning?
A Dish Of Orts
George MacDonald
Did you let her out of a box, as the princess did in the fairytale?
The Fairchild Family
Mary Martha Sherwood
Rather a fairytale sort of country where mistletoe can be got so easily!
Round the Wonderful World
G. E. Mitton

British Dictionary definitions for fairytale

fairy tale

fairy story

noun

a story about fairies or other mythical or magical beings, esp one of traditional origin told to children

a highly improbable account

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 fairytale

fairy tale

"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.