marionette
noun
mar·i·o·nette ˌmer-ē-ə-ˈnet 
: a small-scale usually wooden figure (as of a person) with jointed limbs that is moved from above by manipulation of the attached strings or wires
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The marionette will be shown publicly for the first time later this month at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. 
New York Times, 13 July 2022 Long before Frank Oz brought many Muppets to life, his father, an amateur Dutch puppeteer, made a Hitler marionette as an act of defiance. New York Times, 13 July 2022 The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, which follows a wooden marionette created by grieving woodcarver Geppetto. Carolyn Giardina, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 June 2022 One wonders why a skinny, rebarbative marionette should be getting so much attention. Joan Acocella, The New Yorker, 6 June 2022 Also in the cast are Kyanne Lamaya as Fabiana (and her marionette Sabina), Giuseppe Battiston as Señor Stromboli and Lewin Lloyd as Lampwick. Todd Spangler, Variety, 31 May 2022 Academy Award-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro reinvents Carlo Collodi's classic tale of the wooden marionette who is magically brought to life in order to mend the heart of a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 3 Feb. 2022 The answer may lay with a contraption that looks like an oversized record player with a human marionette on top. The Salt Lake Tribune, 30 Jan. 2022 In addition to the puppetry’s metaphorical overtones of manipulation, a historical fact justifies the conceit: Levin ran a marionette theater in Chicago in the 1930s. Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2022 See More
New York Times, 13 July 2022 Long before Frank Oz brought many Muppets to life, his father, an amateur Dutch puppeteer, made a Hitler marionette as an act of defiance. New York Times, 13 July 2022 The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, which follows a wooden marionette created by grieving woodcarver Geppetto. Carolyn Giardina, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 June 2022 One wonders why a skinny, rebarbative marionette should be getting so much attention. Joan Acocella, The New Yorker, 6 June 2022 Also in the cast are Kyanne Lamaya as Fabiana (and her marionette Sabina), Giuseppe Battiston as Señor Stromboli and Lewin Lloyd as Lampwick. Todd Spangler, Variety, 31 May 2022 Academy Award-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro reinvents Carlo Collodi's classic tale of the wooden marionette who is magically brought to life in order to mend the heart of a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 3 Feb. 2022 The answer may lay with a contraption that looks like an oversized record player with a human marionette on top. The Salt Lake Tribune, 30 Jan. 2022 In addition to the puppetry’s metaphorical overtones of manipulation, a historical fact justifies the conceit: Levin ran a marionette theater in Chicago in the 1930s. Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
French marionnette, from Middle French maryonete, from Marion, diminutive of Marie Mary
First Known Use
circa 1620, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
marionette
noun
mar·i·o·nette ˌmer-ē-ə-ˈnet
: a puppet moved by attached strings
marionettes
noun
as in dolls
a puppet that is moved by pulling strings or wires that are attached to its body Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- dolls
- dollies
- figurines
- figures
- poppets
- statuettes
- rag dolls
- sculptures
- hand puppets
- figureheads
- carvings
- mannequins
- action figures
- models
- manikins
- busts
- mannikins
- dummies
- forms
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- colossi