ventriloquism

play

noun ven·tril·o·quism \ven-ˈtri-lə-ˌkwi-zəm\

Definition of ventriloquism

1 : the production of the voice in such a way that the sound seems to come from a source other than the vocal organs of the speaker
2 : the expression of one's views and attitudes through another; especially : such expression by a writer through a fictional character or literary persona

ventriloquial

play \ˌven-trə-ˈlō-kwē-əl\ adjective

ventriloquially

play \ˌven-trə-ˈlō-kwē-ə-lē\ adverb

Recent Examples of ventriloquism from the Web

Thursday Morning Kids Concerts Silly Goose & Val perform, with music, ventriloquism, comedy and audience participation.

— Washington Post, "Montgomery County community calendar", 31 May 2017
Free; registration requested (course No. 34278). Thursday Morning Kids Concerts Silly Goose & Val perform, with music, ventriloquism, comedy and audience participation.

— Washington Post, "Montgomery County community calendar", 31 May 2017
Officer Durr, who grew up in the Brookhaven area, was well known in the community for presenting a ventriloquism program at schools and churches.

— daniel victor, New York Times, "Eight Die, Including Police Officer, in Mississippi Shootings", 28 May 2017
Video screens play extended clips from the debate with the volume turned low, while the company’s actors speak the words, synchronizing them to the video—an accomplished kind of ventriloquism, complete with ums, ahs, and stumbles.

— rebecca mead, The New Yorker, "Norman Mailer’s Snarling Encounter with Feminism, Restaged in Trump’s America", 23 Feb. 2017
Huge Harry, a Dutch artists’ consortium, performed a kind of human, electronic ventriloquism Tuesday afternoon, wiring a human face with electrodes and allowing a robot to distort the facial expressions at its will.

— austin bunn, WIRED, "Ars Unleashes Digital Circus of the Flesh", 10 Sep. 1997

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ventriloquism'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.