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puppets

noun

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

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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

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 All of the puppets in the show, naturally, are from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. — Claire Harutunian, Charlotte Observer, 9 Sep. 2026 And the handcrafted, surreal warmth of Henson’s puppets and Muppets is a useful touchpoint when thinking about what the future of robots, literally, can look like. — Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026 The company does topical political protest shows using music, acting, masks, puppets and community spirit. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 6 Sep. 2026 Its staggering production included 136 sets and 231 practical puppets. — ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026 Hundreds of puppets had to be created, and fitting characters like the Smiling Friends that were clearly designed for 2D animation into 3D spaces required some fabrication miracles. — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 30 Aug. 2026 Other inspirations for the project include the Giant Pink Sea Snail from Doctor Dolittle, giant mechanical elephant puppets by Royal de Luxe and Jules Verne’s imaginative creations. — Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026 Curry never took himself too seriously as an actor and blended seamlessly with human actors and puppets alike. — ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026 Putting on a Muppet show is always an elaborate production involving angles, runways, monitors and sets that make the audience forget that these are puppets. — Mya Copeland, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puppets
  1. dolls
  2. pawns
  3. dollies
  4. tools
Noun
  • The founders of iconic brands such as Ideal, Mattel, Marx, Hasbro, Kenner, Wham-O and Madame Alexander dolls shared roots in Yiddish-speaking Europe, and childhoods as the sons and daughters of immigrants.
    — Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The dolls and books, which depict 9- and 10-year-olds, became part of daily life for millions of American girls.
    — Tara Strauch, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of dolls
Noun
  • Melton was a Mountain West All-Academic pick who today is an avid chess player, moving pawns on his phone or going toe-to-toe with Justin Verlander in the middle of the clubhouse.
    — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • With no end to the war in sight, inflation on the rise, fuel rationing and continued threats of strikes, the vast majority of the Iranian population appear not to be players, but pawns.
    — Will Barker, TheWeek, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of pawns
Noun
  • The 750-ton building was placed onto 20 dollies and moved onto city property where it was ultimately restored and opened as a museum and events venue.
    — Camila Gomez, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Each band’s gear had been set up on dollies and risers, secured under forty-foot-long tents.
    — Alex Abramovich, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
Definition of dollies
Noun
  • Those inspection tools can help manufacturers identify internal issues before propulsion hardware reaches later production stages.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Many companies now rely on AI screening tools that filter applications based on keywords rather than real qualifications.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of tools

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puppet
puppets
puppies
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Cite this Entry

“Puppets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puppets. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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