marionette

[mar-ee-uh-net]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR marionette ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a puppet manipulated from above by strings attached to its jointed limbs.

Origin of marionette

1610–20; < French marionnette, equivalent to Marion (diminutive of Marie Mary) + -ette -ette

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for marionette

dummy, moppet, manikin, doll, figurine, fantoccini

Examples from the Web for marionette

Contemporary Examples of marionette

Have you ever been on a film and felt manipulated by a director, sort of like a marionette?
Keanu Reeves Dishes On Kung Fu, Amazon Drones, Directing ‘Man of Tai Chi,’ And More
Marlow Stern
December 6, 2013
He had gone on to such projects as a 28-foot marionette for the 1965 Balanchine production of Don Quixote.
Big Bird’s Big Gay Love Story: From Birth to the 2012 Presidential Race
Michael Daly
October 10, 2012

Historical Examples of marionette

But the marionette show was only the beginning of the party.
Grace Harlowe's Plebe Year at High School
Jessie Graham Flower
She's wearing a pink dress and is just about as tall as a marionette.
Grace Harlowe's Plebe Year at High School
Jessie Graham Flower
How did anyone know we were going to have a marionette show?
Grace Harlowe's Plebe Year at High School
Jessie Graham Flower
He would not willingly destroy the self-respect even of a marionette.
Gossamer
George A. Birmingham
I should like to do so,” the Marionette answered, “for it is our last meeting.
Adventures in Toyland
Edith King Hall

British Dictionary definitions for marionette

marionette

noun

an articulated puppet or doll whose jointed limbs are moved by strings

Word Origin for marionette

C17: from French, from Marion, diminutive of Marie Mary + -ette

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for marionette

puppet worked by strings, c.1620, literally "little little Mary," from French marionette (16c.), diminutive of Old French mariole "figurine, idol, picture of the Virgin Mary," diminutive of Marie (see Mary).