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Cinderella
[ sin-duh-rel-uh ]
noun
- a heroine of a fairy tale or folk tale who is maltreated by a malevolent stepmother but achieves happiness and marries a prince through the benevolent intervention of a fairy godmother.
- (italics) the tale itself, the earliest version of which is in Chinese and dates from the 9th century a.d.
- (italics) a ballet (1945) with musical score by Sergei Prokofiev.
- a person or thing of merit, undeservedly neglected or forced into a wretched or obscure existence.
- a person or thing that achieves unexpected or sudden success or recognition, especially after obscurity, neglect, or misery (often used attributively):
Which team will find themselves the Cinderella of this year’s college basketball season?
Cinderella
/ ˌsɪndəˈrɛlə /
noun
- a girl who achieves fame after being obscure
- a poor, neglected, or unsuccessful person or thing
- ( as modifier )
a Cinderella service within the NHS
- modifier relating to dramatic success
a Cinderella story
“Cinderella”
- A fairy tale from the collection of Charles Perrault. Cinderella, a young girl, is forced by her stepmother and stepsisters to do heavy housework and relaxes by sitting among the cinders by the fireplace. One evening, when the prince of the kingdom is holding a ball, Cinderella's fairy godmother visits her, magically dresses her for the ball, turns a pumpkin into a magnificent carriage for her, warns her not to stay past midnight, and sends her off. Cinderella captivates the prince at the ball but leaves just as midnight is striking, and in her haste she drops a slipper; as the story is usually told in English, the slipper is made of glass. She returns home with her fine clothes turned back into rags and her carriage a pumpkin again. The prince searches throughout the kingdom for the owner of the slipper. Cinderella is the only one whom it fits, and the prince marries her.
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Notes
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Word History and Origins
Origin of Cinderella1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of Cinderella1
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Example Sentences
It was a Cinderella story, being discovered at a sporting event.
If you want Cinderella to become the empress of the world...
The characters were more like Snow White, or Cinderella, or the Power Puff Girls, and I had to wear a big head with a chinstrap.
Everyone loves a Cinderella story, and Orange Is the New Black has a prison full of them.
In Western schools, students are encouraged to speak their minds after reading stories like “Cinderella.”
I have foolishly undertaken to write music for a ballet Cinderella, at a very small fee.
Its all settledsplendidly settledand Im as happy as Cinderella when she found the Prince!
A coach and four, a Cinderella coach, would be the 28 only suitable equipage in which to make this journey into fairyland.
"There's no character hin all the world as I hadmires like Cinderella," said Sue.
"Sit down, Cinderella, and keep yourself quiet," cried Pickles.
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