Marionette
/ˌmæɹi.əˈnɛt/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A puppet, usually made of wood, which is animated by the pulling of strings.
"If you think we are worked by strings, Like a Japanese marionette, You don't understand these things: It is simply Court etiquette."
- 2 a small figure of a person operated from above with strings by a puppeteer wordnet
- 3 The buffel duck. obsolete
Verb
- 1 To control (somebody) as if they were a puppet; to manipulate. transitive
Example
More examples"How ridiculous I was as a Marionette! And how happy I am, now that I have become a real boy!"
Etymology
Borrowed from French marionnette. The word had originally meant a small statue of the Virgin Mary, then also a puppet of her used in religious theatrical presentations, finally generalised to any puppet.