ventriloquist

IPA/venˈtrɪləkwɪst/
IPA/venˈtrɪləkwɪst/

ventriloquist — noun

  • ventriloquistsingular
  • ventriloquistsplural

1. a performer who talks while keeping their lips still, making it sound as if the

1.nounB2
Definition

a performer who talks while keeping their lips still, making it sound as if the words are coming from a dummy or a different area of the room

Example

The children watched as the ventriloquist made the dummy argue with him about eating vegetables.

ventriloquist + dummy: performer and puppet in dialogue

Apinya practised for three years before her first paid show as a ventriloquist.

practised + [duration] + before + [event]

Common collocations
  • ventriloquist + dummy
  • ventriloquist + performance
  • ventriloquist + act
  • ventriloquist + throw (voice)
Synonyms
  • puppeteer

    controls puppets with hands or strings but does not necessarily throw their voice or keep lips still

  • voice artist

    provides spoken voices for characters but usually works in recording studios, not in live stage acts with a dummy

Usage Note

A ventriloquist typically works with a dummy (a puppet), making it seem as if the dummy is speaking. The skill itself is called ventriloquism.

Common Mistakes

The ventriloquist moved the dummy with strings.
The ventriloquist made the dummy appear to talk by keeping his own lips still.
A ventriloquist's special skill is voice-throwing, not puppet manipulation; a puppeteer handles the strings.

Word family

  • ventriloquism
    nounB2
  • ventriloquize
    verbC1
  • ventriloquial
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe performers who work with voices or puppets, but each role is distinct. A ventriloquist speaks without visible lip movement and makes a dummy or object appear to talk, combining voice control with live theatrical illusion. A puppeteer manipulates a puppet's body movements using strings, rods, or hands, and may not speak at all. A voice artist records dialogue for animations, video games, or commercials, working in a studio rather than on a live stage. An impressionist mimics the voices and mannerisms of well-known people, without using a puppet. For example, a ventriloquist like Nina Conti makes a monkey puppet seem to carry a conversation, whereas a voice artist provides the voice of a cartoon character, and a puppeteer operates the puppet's arms and legs backstage.

ventriloquist ↗puppeteervoice artistimpressionist ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • throw one's voice
  • ventriloquist act

Prepositions

  • with a dummy
  • at a show

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Ventriloquist comes from Latin venter (belly) + loqui (to speak), literally 'belly-speaker'. Ancient ventriloquists were thought to produce sounds from their stomachs rather than their mouths, a belief that persisted into the Middle Ages. The word entered English in the late 1700s from French ventriloque, with the -ist suffix added for the performer.