: characteristic of or suitable to a fairy tale
especially
: marked by seemingly unreal beauty, perfection, luck, or happiness
led a fairy-tale life
a store clerk's fairy-tale romance
1
a
: a story (as for children) involving fantastic forces and beings (such as fairies, wizards, and goblins)
enjoyed the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid"
called also fairy story
b
: a story in which improbable events lead to a happy ending
those balletic fairy tales in which a new corps member steps in for an injured principal at the last minute and delivers a splendid performance—
Margaret Willis
Margaret Willis2
: a made-up story usually designed to mislead
an old-fashioned fairy tale depicting revolutionists as demigods—Jonathan Zimmerman
Jonathan ZimmermanSynonyms
Examples of fairy-tale in a Sentence
Noun
the fairy tale about the sleeping princess
Everything he told us about his happy marriage was just a fairy tale.
Recent Examples on the Web
Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024
News of Chigvintsev’s arrest also ended what appeared to be a reality TV-style fairy-tale romance, involving the two celebrities.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2024
Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
The tour features a gingerbread-making workshop and a trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, which looks like a fairy tale come to life.
—Sandra MacGregor, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fairy-tale 
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Adjective
She’s realer, funnier and more nuanced than that and not about to go quietly once her fairy-tale romance ends and Ivan makes a run for it.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024
News of Chigvintsev’s arrest also ended what appeared to be a reality TV-style fairy-tale romance, involving the two celebrities.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2024
Noun
Wilhelm even revised a fairy tale with the episode in mind.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
The tour features a gingerbread-making workshop and a trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, which looks like a fairy tale come to life.
—Sandra MacGregor, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fairy-tale
Dictionary Entries Near fairy-tale
Cite this Entry
“Fairy-tale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fairy-tale. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.
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