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Svengali

[ sven-gah-lee, sfen- ]

noun

  1. a person who completely dominates another, usually with selfish or sinister motives.


Svengali

/ ɛˈɡɑːɪ /

noun

  1. a person who controls another's mind, usually with sinister intentions
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of Svengali1

First recorded in 1940–45; after the evil hypnotist of the same name in the novel Trilby (1894) by George Du Maurier
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of Svengali1

after a character in George Du Maurier's novel Trilby (1894)
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Sure, the movie is timely — perhaps even too obvious — but Strong’s performance as the Svengali behind Donald Trump’s rise to power is an important chronicle of how evil is forged.

From

Young girl, guitar, her own songs – there's no male producer or a male Svengali who's pulling the strings.

From

Additionally, they trickled out the role of gullible parents, who had outsourced the supervision of their children to Svengali coaches who were purportedly their tickets to athletic success, college scholarships and Olympic medals.

From

Shinn is by no means the first entertainment industry Svengali to profit off other people’s talent and physical labor.

From

Adam Neumann was the tall, handsome, barefoot, tequila-shooting, weed-smoking Svengali who booked rap stars for the office party, had aspirations to live forever, become the world's first trillionaire and expand his company to Mars.

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