marionette
/ˌmæɹi.əˈnɛt/noun, verb
marionette is spelled M-A-R-I-O-N-E-T-T-E: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,788th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, marionette means “A puppet, usually made of wood, which is animated by the pulling of strings” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of marionette is marionettes.
How many letters and syllables are in marionette?
| Letters | 10: M-A-R-I-O-N-E-T-T-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,788th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is marionette?
Marionette appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,788th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce marionette?
- /ˌmæɹi.əˈnɛt/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-marionette.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of marionette
- marionettes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- marionetting participle, present
- marionetted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does marionette mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A puppet, usually made of wood, which is animated by the pulling of strings.
- 2
obsoleteThe buffel duck.
verb
- 1
To control (somebody) as if they were a puppet; to manipulate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Marionette in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense string puppet:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | marionnette |
| German | Marionette |
| Portuguese | marionete |
| Spanish | marioneta |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does marionette come from?
Borrowed from French marionnette. The word had originally meant a small statue of the Virgin Mary, then also a puppet of her used in religious theatrical presentations, finally generalised to any puppet.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).