marionette

[ mar-ee-uh-net ]

/ ˌmær i əˈnɛt /

a puppet manipulated from above by strings attached to its jointed limbs.

Origin of marionette

1610–20; < French marionnette, equivalent to Marion (diminutive of Marie Mary) + -ette -ette

Have you ever been on a film and felt manipulated by a director, sort of like a marionette?

Keanu Reeves Dishes On Kung Fu, Amazon Drones, Directing ‘Man of Tai Chi,’ And More |Marlow Stern |December 6, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
He had gone on to such projects as a 28-foot marionette for the 1965 Balanchine production of Don Quixote.

Big Bird’s Big Gay Love Story: From Birth to the 2012 Presidential Race |Michael Daly |October 10, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
In epicurean Rome it was a marionette that invited you to wreathe yourself with roses before they could fade.

The Lords of the Ghostland |Edgar Saltus
I should like to do so,” the Marionette answered, “for it is our last meeting.

Adventures in Toyland |Edith King Hall

Alidoro laughingly held out his paw to the Marionette, who shook it heartily, feeling that now he and the Dog were good friends.

The Adventures of Pinocchio |C. Collodi--Pseudonym of Carlo Lorenzini
The poor Marionette was caught in a trap set there by a Farmer for some Weasels which came every night to steal his chickens.

The Adventures of Pinocchio |C. Collodi--Pseudonym of Carlo Lorenzini
His locomotion was not his own: his master moved his arms and legs for him as if he were a marionette.

Eugenics and Other Evils |G. K. Chesterton

marionette

/ (ˌmærɪəˈnɛt) /

an articulated puppet or doll whose jointed limbs are moved by strings

C17: from French, from Marion, diminutive of Marie Mary + -ette