What does "fey" mean?
A fairy.
Fey
/feɪ/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A fairy.
- Grammar: fey is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: fairy, abnormal, anomalous, arcane.
- Useful contrasts: fortunate, human, human beings.
- Usage evidence: Surely the Gods have made him fey, having ordained his destruction and our humbling before these Demons.
How to use "fey"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "fey" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "fey" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "fey" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "fey" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "fey" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "fairy" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "fey", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A fairy. countable, uncountable
- 2 Alternative form of pe (“Semitic letter”). alt-of, alternative
- 3 Fairy folk collectively. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To cleanse. UK, dialectal, obsolete, transitive
"to fey a drain or ditch"
Adjective
- 1 About to die; doomed; on the verge of sudden or violent death. archaic, dialectal, poetic
"Surely the Gods have made him fey, having ordained his destruction and our humbling before these Demons."
- 2 Magical or fairylike.
- 3 Dying; dead. obsolete
- 4 Possessing second sight, clairvoyance, or clairaudience. Ireland, Scotland
- 5 Overrefined, affected.
"His interlocutor was whimsical if not downright fey. He pushed his spectacles to the top of his nose. He shoved them into his greying locks like an effeminate racing driver. He gave Pym sherry and put a hand on his backside in order to propel him to a long window that gave on to a row of council houses."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Strange or otherworldly.
"Gratefully she crooned with them, so inimitably that old Christine Inglis, on her way to early Mass, vowed the girl was fey."
- 7 Spellbound.
Adjective
- 1 suggestive of an elf in strangeness and otherworldliness wordnet
- 2 slightly insane wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"Surely the Gods have made him fey, having ordained his destruction and our humbling before these Demons."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "fey"?
Common synonyms include: fairy, abnormal, anomalous, arcane, capricious, crank.
How do you use "fey" in a sentence?
Surely the Gods have made him fey, having ordained his destruction and our humbling before these Demons.
How do you pronounce "fey"?
Pronounced /feɪ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English feye (“fated to die”), from Old English fǣġe (“doomed to die, timid”), from Proto-West Germanic *faigī, from Proto-Germanic *faigijaz (“cowardly, wicked”), from Proto-Indo-European *peyk- (“ill-meaning, bad”). Akin to Old Saxon fēgi, whence Dutch veeg (“doomed, near death”), Old High German feigi (“appointed for death, ungodly”) whence German feige (“cowardly”), Old Norse feigr (“doomed”) whence the Icelandic feigur (“doomed to die”), Old English fāh (“outlawed, hostile”). More at foe.
Etymology 2
From Middle English faie, fei (“a place or person possessed with magical properties”), from Middle French feie, fee (“fairy", "fae”), from Old French fae, from Medieval Latin fāda. More at fairy.
Etymology 3
Inherited from Middle English feien (“to cleanse”), from Old Norse fægja (“to cleanse, polish”), from Proto-Germanic *fēgijaną (“to decorate, make beautiful”), from Proto-Indo-European *pōḱ-, *pēḱ- (“to clean, adorn”). Cognate with Swedish feja (“to sweep”), Danish feje (“to sweep”), German fegen (“to cleanse, scour, sweep”), Dutch vegen (“to sweep, strike”). More at feague, fake, fair.