1
a plaything for [someone]
plaything 是可数名词，指供人玩耍的玩具；用 for 引出使用者。
This stuffed bear is a plaything for the baby.
这只玩具熊是给婴儿玩的玩具。
玩具；玩物
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
玩具；玩物
a toy
This stuffed bear is a plaything for the baby.
这只玩具熊是给婴儿玩的玩具。
供玩耍的东西或人；玩物。
A thing or person intended for playing with.
设计用来玩的物品
an artifact designed to be played with
受命运摆布的人。
A person at the mercy of fate.
The toddler treated the empty box as a plaything and sat inside it for an hour.
那个幼儿把空箱子当作玩具，在里面坐了一个小时。
Please put your playthings back in the toy chest before dinner.
晚饭前请把你的玩具放回玩具箱。
The dog found a squeaky ball and made it his favorite plaything.
狗找到一个吱吱响的球，把它当成了最喜欢的玩具。
plaything 是可数名词，指供人玩耍的玩具；用 for 引出使用者。
This stuffed bear is a plaything for the baby.
这只玩具熊是给婴儿玩的玩具。
make a plaything of 是固定搭配，表示把某人或某事当作玩物随意摆布。
The powerful often make a plaything of the weak.
强者常常把弱者当玩物。
be the plaything of 常用于比喻，指被动地受某人或某种力量支配。
The small country was the plaything of the neighboring empires.
这个小国曾是邻国列强的玩物。
Not this
The child is playing a plaything.
Use this
The child is playing with a plaything.
play 表示“玩（玩具）”时是不及物动词，必须说 play with a plaything；汉语直接说“玩玩具”，受母语影响容易漏掉 with。加上 with 后意思才准确。
Not this
She has two plaything.
Use this
She has two playthings.
plaything 是可数名词，复数形式是 playthings；汉语名词没有单复数变化，所以用 two 等数量词修饰时容易忘记加 -s。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
命运的玩物；受命运摆布的人
He felt like a plaything of fate after losing his job twice in one year.
一年内两次失业后，他觉得自己像是命运的玩物。
众神的玩物；受神明捉弄的人
The ancient Greeks saw human life as a plaything of the gods.
古希腊人认为人类的生活是众神的玩物。
富人的玩物（指被当作玩物的人）
She refused to be a rich man's plaything and left the party.
她拒绝做富人的玩物，于是离开了聚会。
儿童玩具
The floor was covered with children's playthings.
地板上散落着儿童玩具。
仅仅是玩物；纯粹的玩物
To the manager, the intern was a mere plaything in a corporate game.
在经理眼里，这名实习生不过是公司游戏中的一个玩物。
命运的玩物（指被命运摆布的人）
After the scandal, he felt like the plaything of fate.
丑闻之后，他觉得自己成了命运的玩物。
把某人当玩物，玩弄某人
She made a plaything of him and then left without a word.
她把他玩弄于股掌之间，然后一言不发地离开了。
发长 /eɪ/ 音 (如 day, play)
Use plaything naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
把 plaything 拆成 play（玩）和 thing（东西）：用来玩的东西就是玩具、玩物；被玩弄的人也叫 plaything。
语域：mixed 常见场景：文学/正式写作、日常对话 plaything 比 toy 更正式、多带书面或文学色彩；日常对话中较少单独使用。表示“被玩弄的人”时，通常出现在正式或比喻性描写中。
plaything（/ˈpleɪˌθɪŋ/）由 play + thing 构成。末尾的 -thing 与 thing、swing、sing、ring 押韵（都含 /ɪŋ/）；something 也以 -thing 拼写，但重音在第一个音节，严格说与 plaything 的 /θɪŋ/ 不押韵。注意 play 的拼写与 plaything 开头相同，但读音 /pleɪ/ 与 -thing 不押韵。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.