Svengali (Noun)
Meaning 1
Someone (usually maleficent) who tries to persuade or force another person to do his bidding.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- The infamous music teacher was accused of being a svengali, manipulating his young students into committing nefarious acts.
- Her boyfriend's controlling behavior was like something out of a novel, a classic svengali story where the protagonist is slowly drained of their free will.
- The cult leader was a master svengali, able to convince his followers to do his bidding without question or hesitation.
- In the thriller, the villainous svengali uses mind control techniques to force the protagonist to commit a series of gruesome murders.
- His mother-in-law was a subtle svengali, using guilt and emotional manipulation to control every aspect of her daughter's life.
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
The musician in a novel by George du Maurier who controls Trilby's singing hypnotically.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.