fairy tale

Definition of fairy tale

1a. 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 storyb. 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

2. a made-up story usually designed to mislead an old-fashioned fairy tale depicting revolutionists as demigods — Jonathan Zimmerman

First Known Use: 1635

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Examples of fairy tale in a Sentence

the fairy tale about the sleeping princess

Everything he told us about his happy marriage was just a fairy tale .