as in tool
one that is or can be used to further the purposes of another
the novel's characters are not fully fleshed humans, but are simply lay figures strutted out to serve as mouthpieces for conflicting points of view
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay figure
Noun
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The automation tools haven’t put much of a crimp on the 27 million or so of today’s global software engineers who generally do their coding by hand.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025 -
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.—
Thomas Westerholm,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Weeks of checking pawn shops and posting reward signs went nowhere.—
Jennifer Jolly,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
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Missing pawns, cracked hourglass timers, and flimsy boxes have a way of sneaking up on you.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
12 Sep. 2025
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“Lay figure.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20figure. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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