svengali

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun someone (usually maleficent) who tries to persuade or force another person to do his bidding
noun the musician in a novel by George du Maurier who controls Trilby's singing hypnotically

Named for the hypnotist character Svengali in George du Maurier's novel Trilby. More at citations.

BLOOM: _(In Svengali’s fur overcoat, with folded arms and Napoleonic forelock, frowns in ventriloquial exorcism with piercing eagle glance towards the door. — Ulysses, James Joyce
Why does Marcie follow you around like you were Svengali?” “She doesn’t.” “Don’t tell me she doesn’t!” he shouted in a fury, bringing his fist down with a huge thump on her desk. — I am a woman, Ann Bannon
"What--" "Stand up--there, agin that screen there--" Dark as a nun in her wimple, but golden as a sun-flower, she rose as Trilby rose to the eye of Svengali-- "Gad!" he repeated, bringing his small tight fist down on a littered ash-tray, "by Gad!" — Just Around the Corner: Romance en casserole, Fannie Hurst

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

From: —

Output

Worksheet Type (multi-select)

Scope

Difficulty

Max questions

0 words Min 50 words / Max 2,000 words