Svengali Hear it!

Svengali definition

Sven·ga·li (sven gä′lē, sfen-)

noun

a person who dominates or manipulates another, esp. with evil intentions

Etymology: from the evil hypnotist, Svengali, in the novel Trilby (1894) by George (Louis Palmella Busson) du Maurier

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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