Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A stage performer having no speaking part.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One who dances in the figures of the ballet.
- noun An accessory character on the stage, who figures in its scenes, but has nothing to say.
- noun Hence One who figures in any scene without taking a prominent part.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One who dances at the opera, not singly, but in groups or figures; an accessory character on the stage, who figures in its scenes, but has nothing to say; hence, one who figures in any scene, without taking a prominent part.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun an actor in the background lacking an
aural presence
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Or nous sommes confrontés à un énorme problème d'opacité: nous sommes incapables d'évaluer la quantité de toxiques bancaires figurant encore au bilan des banques du fait du processus de titrisation
Archive 2009-04-10 2009
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The deceased, who is never mentioned by name, appears as a mere figurant, or rather an onlooker.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 5: Diocese-Fathers of Mercy 1840-1916 1913
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The plebiscite, undoubtedly, as well as the election of deputies to the Corps Legislatif are simply comedies; but, in these comedies, one rôle is as good as another and the duke of the old or new pattern, a mere figurant among hundreds and thousands of others, votes only once like the corner-grocer.
The Modern Regime, Volume 1 Hippolyte Taine 1860
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Meantime the _figurant_ cherishes sanguine hopes that he may one day rise to a prominent position in the ballet, or that he may become an _accessoire_; and the _accessoire_ looks forward fervently to ranking in the future among the regular actors or
A Book of the Play Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character Dutton Cook 1856
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The beer was brought him by a _figurant_, or mute performer, in the character of a waiter, charged with the simple duty of drawing the cork from the bottle and filling the glass of the customer.
A Book of the Play Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character Dutton Cook 1856
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French stage has a story of a _figurant_ who ruined at once a new tragedy and his own prospects by an unhappy _lapsus linguæ_, the result of undue haste and nervous excitement.
A Book of the Play Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character Dutton Cook 1856
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He ventures to hold that as much talent is necessary to constitute a tolerable _figurant_ as to make a good actor.
A Book of the Play Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character Dutton Cook 1856
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A Parisian _figurant_, advanced to the position of
A Book of the Play Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character Dutton Cook 1856
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He describes the _figurant_ as a multiform actor, a dramatic chameleon, compelled by the special nature of his occupation, or rather by its lack of special nature, to appear young or old, crooked or straight, noble or base-born, savage or civilised, according to the good pleasure of the dramatist.
A Book of the Play Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character Dutton Cook 1856
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The _figurant_, from this modest and accidental beginning of his career as an actor, speedily rose to be famous.
A Book of the Play Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character Dutton Cook 1856
ethnofinancecologist commented on the word figurant
As the Swan of Avon reminded us, all the world's a stage. Most of the players thereon, however, do not even qualify for lives of quiet desperation, rather they are figurants in what ought to be their own dramas. At least that's the truth of reality on Wall Street.
June 14, 2010