: 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
Lauren Groff, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2024
The storied maison is making both of those wishes come true with their new limited-edition version of Chanel N°5 Eau de Parfum that seems like it was plucked out of a fairy tale—or a snow globe.
—Celia Shatzman, Forbes, 16 Oct. 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
All come from the same spiritual universe, as dark as true fairy tales tend to be, confections of extreme beauty with neon venom laced through.
—Lauren Groff, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2024
The storied maison is making both of those wishes come true with their new limited-edition version of Chanel N°5 Eau de Parfum that seems like it was plucked out of a fairy tale—or a snow globe.
—Celia Shatzman, Forbes, 16 Oct. 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 5 Nov. 2024.
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