marionette: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples

All marionettes are puppets, but not all puppets are marionettes. 'Puppet' is the general term. A 'marionette' is specifically a puppet controlled from above by strings or wires attached to its limbs, as opposed to hand puppets, rod puppets, or shadow puppets.

Yes, English borrowed 'marionette' from French in the early 17th century. The French word is a diminutive of 'Marion', a pet form of the name 'Marie'. It originally referred to a small figure of the Virgin Mary in medieval French mystery plays, which later evolved to mean any puppet worked by strings.

Yes, but it is rare and considered figurative or creative. It means to control or manipulate someone or something as if they were a marionette (e.g., 'The director marionetted the actors through every minute gesture'). The standard term is 'to puppet'.

The most common metaphor is 'marionette government' or 'marionette regime', describing a government that has no real sovereignty and is entirely controlled by a foreign power or a hidden internal group. The phrase 'pulling the strings' is the related action of the 'puppeteer'.

A puppet manipulated from above by strings or wires attached to its limbs.

Marionette is usually neutral to formal, often literary or technical. in register.

Marionette: in British English it is pronounced /ˌmær.i.əˈnet/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌmer.i.əˈnet/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.