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Rasputin

[ ra-spyoo-tin, -tn; Russian ruh-spoo-tyin ]

/ ræˈspyu tɪn, -tn; Russian rʌˈspu tyɪn /

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noun

Gri·go·ri E·fi·mo·vich

[gri-gawr-ee i-fee-muh-vich; Russian gryi-gaw-ryee yi-fyee-muh-vyich], /grɪˈgɔr i ɪˈfi mə vɪtʃ; Russian gryɪˈgɔ ryi yɪˈfyi mə vyɪtʃ/, c1871–1916, Siberian peasant monk who was very influential at the court of Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra.

any person who exercises great but insidious influence.

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Words nearby Rasputin

raspberry, raspberry sawfly, rasper, rasping, raspings, Rasputin, Rasputin, Grigori, raspy, rasse, Ras Shamra, rassle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Rasputin in a sentence

The last thing they needed was a Methuselah—or Rasputin—look-alike at their conferences, a fast-talking outsider who drank beer from morning to night and claimed we could live for more than 1,000 years.
The bird is fine, the bird is fine, the bird is fine, it’s dead.|Jonathan Weiner|October 20, 2022|MIT Technology Review
Her choice for Desert Island Discs ranged from “The Drinking Song” by Verdi to “Ra Ra Rasputin” by Boney M.
The Week in Death: Clarissa Dickson Wright, One of ‘Two Fat Ladies’|The Telegraph|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She spoke with Jane Ciabattari about playing with Russian history and the Rasputin myth.
Kathryn Harrison on Rasputin in New Novel 'Enchantments'|Jane Ciabattari|March 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Part of what Rasputin did for the royal family was healing their youngest.
Kathryn Harrison on Rasputin in New Novel 'Enchantments'|Jane Ciabattari|March 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The gossip of the time speculated that Rasputin was having sex with the tsarina and her daughters.
Kathryn Harrison on Rasputin in New Novel 'Enchantments'|Jane Ciabattari|March 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The German influence at Court scares them, and there is, besides, the mysterious Rasputin to contend with!
My War Experiences in Two Continents|Sarah Macnaughtan
Rasputin's figure is one of those mysterious ones round which every sort of rumour gathers.
My War Experiences in Two Continents|Sarah Macnaughtan
Instead of appointing better ministers, he appointed worse ones, suggested by Rasputin.
Lest We Forget|John Gilbert Thompson
It is said that Rasputin had one of his friends serving as physician to the Tsar and that he kept Nicholas drugged.
Lest We Forget|John Gilbert Thompson
Both were in uniform, and after ushering them into Rasputin's study I felt that some dark conspiracy was on foot.
The Minister of Evil|William Le Queux

British Dictionary definitions for Rasputin

Rasputin

/ (ræˈspjuːtɪn, Russian rasˈputin) /

noun

Grigori Efimovich (ɡriˈɡɔrij jɪˈfiməvitʃ). ?1871–1916, Siberian peasant monk, notorious for his debauchery, who wielded great influence over Tsarina Alexandra. He was assassinated by a group of Russian noblemen

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