1
as in dolls
a small figure often of a human being used especially as a child's plaything
gave her a puppet with strings for a gift
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in pawns
one that is or can be used to further the purposes of another
accused the newspaper editor of being a puppet for the moneyed people of the town
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of puppets
Jordan Sook’s video finds Drake and Party as puppets while sipping lean and taking a yacht out with plenty of women, and even hopping on Air Drake.
—
Michael Saponara, Billboard, 27 Aug. 2025
Broad hands held out right in front of him, cut up in streetlight, making shadow puppets on the split cement and talking to nobody, all by himself, all the time.
—Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025
Another leap forward in technology is the on-stage puppets.
—Megan Dubois, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
More than 232 puppets are featured in the production which took director Taymor and her team 37,000 hours to make.
—Lee Sharrock, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
The band of robot puppets has been a mainstay at the colorful pizzeria-arcade chain where children run amok and play games for prizes in between bites of pizza slices.
—The Learning Network, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024
The retelling of the movie features original music from the movie with massive puppets, digital projections, and gorgeous sets.
—Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 19 Dec. 2024
Meanwhile, Aardman has upgraded its stop-motion Wallace and Gromit puppets with improved plasticine clay, more silicone and resin, and better armatures and mouth replacement.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 16 Dec. 2024
Well, Rudy Mancuso’s innovative debut has three of the best scenes of the year (and puppets — can’t forget the puppets).
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2024
Michael Saponara, Billboard, 27 Aug. 2025
Broad hands held out right in front of him, cut up in streetlight, making shadow puppets on the split cement and talking to nobody, all by himself, all the time.
—Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025
Another leap forward in technology is the on-stage puppets.
—Megan Dubois, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
More than 232 puppets are featured in the production which took director Taymor and her team 37,000 hours to make.
—Lee Sharrock, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
The band of robot puppets has been a mainstay at the colorful pizzeria-arcade chain where children run amok and play games for prizes in between bites of pizza slices.
—The Learning Network, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024
The retelling of the movie features original music from the movie with massive puppets, digital projections, and gorgeous sets.
—Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 19 Dec. 2024
Meanwhile, Aardman has upgraded its stop-motion Wallace and Gromit puppets with improved plasticine clay, more silicone and resin, and better armatures and mouth replacement.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 16 Dec. 2024
Well, Rudy Mancuso’s innovative debut has three of the best scenes of the year (and puppets — can’t forget the puppets).
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puppets
Noun
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Labubu dolls are made by Chinese toymaker Pop Mart.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
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The Labubu craze has made the founder of the company behind the viral dolls richer than ever.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Ultimately, Dalton and her team uncover that General Livingstone orchestrated the hostage and coup to increase military spending, using Captain Shagan and his former unit as pawns.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
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As both Beijing’s experience dealing with Pyongyang and, to a lesser extent, Washington’s experience with Taipei demonstrate, these smaller partners are not mere pawns to be traded away.—
SHUXIAN LUO,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Mock suggests using gentle cleaning tools to avoid scratching the flooring.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
7 Sep. 2025
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Amazon’s sale section is packed with stellar deals this month — including a few rarely-on-sale beauty tools that should be on your radar.—
Isabel Garcia,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Puppets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puppets. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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