puppet master
Americannoun
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a puppeteer; a person who puts on a puppet show.
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a person who secretly controls the actions of another, often through manipulation.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dunk, a hedge knight who cannot abide the strong preying on the weak, might have intervened regardless of his romantic feelings for Tanselle, the Dornish puppet master who treated him kindly.
From Salon • Feb. 25, 2026
The humanoid bot can do the dishes, clean and fold laundry, but for now it also requires a human puppet master.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
Acevedo, rich from his day job as a developer, retreated from the spotlight once critics began to accuse him of being a puppet master.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2024
She described God as a puppet master of sorts, sitting in the heavens.
From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2023
Then as if a puppet master had rotated their heads at exactly the same moment, they faced each other and both started talking at once.
From "The Landry News" by Andrew Clements
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
