ventriloquist

[ ven-tril-uh-kwist ]

/ vɛnˈtrɪl ə kwɪst /

a person who performs or is skilled in ventriloquism.

Nearby words

1650–60; ventriloqu(y) + -ist

Related formsven·tril·o·quis·tic, adjective

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

When the ventriloquist is a voice of experience and not of love, words are no longer material for heartfelt expression.
Sex Advice from Cyrano|Ben Crair|July 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The orchestra played his theme and an army announcer introduced him as the Number One ventriloquist in the world.
The Second Voice|Mann Rubin
It was Ike's "tour," as boatmen say, and the ventriloquist struck his "lay" at last.
The Twin Ventriloquists|Old Sleuth
The sound of his laughter was something like the creaking of a cart imitated by a ventriloquist.
Whosoever Shall Offend|F. Marion Crawford

A ventriloquist on the boat might, I think, make it seem to others that his voice came from among the tree-tops on the shore.
Elsie at Ion|Martha Finley
I have therefore taken upon me to call it the "Ventriloquist."
Expedition into Central Australia|Charles Sturt

1650s, from ventriloquy + -ist. Ventriloquists in ancient Greece were Pythones, a reference to the Delphic Oracle.