Meaning of Plaything | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A thing or person intended for playing with.
2. A person at the mercy of fate.

Equivalents

Examples

“[S]he haſtily retired, taking with her her little Girl, whoſe Eyes were all over blubbered at the melancholy News ſhe heard of Jones, who uſed to call⟳ her his little Wife, and not only gave her many Playthings, but ſpent whole Hours in playing with her himſelf.”

“1856: Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, Part III Chapter XI, translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling The next day Charles had the child brought back. She asked for her mamma. They told her she was away; that she would bring⟳ her back some playthings.”

“O Lord of seven skies, whose plaything is the thunder, thou art amongst the gods, what need⟳ hast thou for words from any man?”

“We talk⟳ of our energies and of our will—we are the mere playthings of subtle and malignant chances.”

CEFR level