marionette

noun

mar·​i·​o·​nette ˌmer-ē-ə-ˈnet How to pronounce marionette (audio)
: 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

Examples of marionette in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The characters are bright, marionette-like caricatures whom the author constructs and moves ostentatiously in full view of the reader, revealing his artistic devices with a sense of absurd, mischievous humor. Nelly Klos september 29, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025 In Burnett’s younger years, her body was as gangly and bendable as a marionette. Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025 There are few actors whose disembodied voices could carry long stretches of cinema, but Dafoe manages it, turning monologues about marionette mechanics or muttered complaints about hotel politics into something weirdly magnetic. Leila Latif, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025 If the Giuseppe marionette from And Just Like That is still giving you the kind of nightmares that plague Sebastiano Pigazzi's character, don't worry. EW.com, 19 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for marionette

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of marionette was circa 1620

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Marionette.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marionette. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

marionette

noun
mar·​i·​o·​nette ˌmar-ē-ə-ˈnet How to pronounce marionette (audio)
ˌmer-
: a puppet moved by attached strings or wires
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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