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títere

puppet; marionette

noun TEE-teh-reh Rare

Origin: Possibly onomatopoeic, related to the repeated sounds made by puppeteers to animate figures.

Also means

pawn; puppet (figurative)

Usage Note

Títere is always masculine. In the plural, títeres refers to a puppet show — teatro de títeres. Figuratively, a títere is a person who acts as someone else's instrument with no real agency: no dejes que te usen de títere (don't let them use you as a puppet). The phrase no dejar títere con cabeza (literally 'to leave no puppet with its head') means to spare no one or to cause total havoc.

Examples

"Los niños disfrutaron del espectáculo de títeres."

Natural Translation

The children enjoyed the puppet show.

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