ventriloquist

noun

ven·​tril·​o·​quist ven-ˈtri-lə-kwist 

: one who uses or is skilled in ventriloquism

especially : one who provides entertainment by using ventriloquism to carry on an apparent conversation with a hand-manipulated dummy

ventriloquistic

(ˌ)ven-ˌtri-lə-ˈkwi-stik 

adjective

Examples of ventriloquist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In one of our conversations, Apatow brought up the episode in which one of the geeks of Freaks and Geeks, Neal Schweiber (played by Samm Levine), confronts his philandering father by telling hostile jokes about him through a ventriloquist puppet. —Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025

Rounding out the ensemble cast are Fred Melamed (Barry), Angela Witherspoon (The Family Business), Mara Marini (The Maginot Line), Paul Witten (The Residence), Kim Cloutier (Shoresy), and ventriloquist Willie Tyler & Lester. —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025

Lionsgate is developing a remake of Magic, a 1978 cult horror classic that featured Anthony Hopkins as a mentally unstable ventriloquist. —Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025

Or that it was lifted from the name of a ventriloquist's dummy, Mortimer Snerd, created by radio performer Edgar Bergen. —Joe Hernandez, NPR, 20 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin ventriloquus "person who appears to produce speech sounds from within his or her body (as during spirit possession or under control of a deity)" (from Latin ventr-, venter "belly, abdomen" + -i- -i- + -loquus, agent derivative of loquī "to speak") + -ist entry 1 — more at venter, eloquent

Note: The Late Latin word was coined as a translation of Greek engastrímythos.

First Known Use

circa 1656, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ventriloquist

• numismatist
• photoresist
• podiatrist
• positivist
• recidivist
• relativist
• theosophist
• assist
• blacklist
• booklist
• checklist
• consist

Kids Definition

ventriloquist

noun

ven·​tril·​o·​quist ven-ˈtril-ə-kwəst 

: a person skilled in speaking in such a way that the voice seems to come from a source other than the speaker

ventriloquism

-ˌkwiz-əm

noun

Etymology

from Latin ventriloquus "ventriloquist," from ventr-, venter "stomach, belly" and loqui "to speak"; so called from the early belief that the voice is produced in the ventriloquist's stomach