puppets

plural of puppet
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

Relevance
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

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.
Recent Examples of puppets This dance party for toddlers and preschoolers is packed with silly puppets, cheerful songs, and endless smiles! Sarah Z. Sleeper, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2025 The Melon Patch also incorporates puppets to bring in a non-adult character who relates to kids. Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 23 Sep. 2025 While Sam begins hallucinating people as puppets, Justin breaks up with him. Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025 At the Make Art Zone, Semmerling will lead an activity for kids to make their own bird puppets with a moveable beak free of charge. Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 15 Sep. 2025 Even seeing the animatronic puppets waiting to strike in the shadows was scary. Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 5 Sep. 2025 Children from the community will be a part of the production, which features song-and-dance numbers as well as live-action puppets. Virginia Brown, Charlotte Observer, 3 Sep. 2025 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puppets
Noun
  • There will be a piñata and crafting, including Lele dolls, carnival masks and pipe cleaner chameleons.
    Linda Mcintosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Next up, the dolls are teaming up with Parisian maison Moynat.
    Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The pawns loans are typically pretty small, in the range of $200, Jugmans said.
    Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Declaring war on our nation’s cities and using our troops as political pawns is what dictators do.
    Brian Bennett, Time, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • While voting on the bill is unlikely, the provision banning software tools like virtual private networks, or VPNs, has caused concern over potential government overreach in tech spaces.
    Leah Olajide, Freep.com, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Watch this video to see how to clean your hair tools.
    Cody Godwin, USA Today, 5 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Puppets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puppets. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on puppets

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!