manipulate

verb

ma·nip·u·late | \ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt

manipulated; manipulating

Definition of manipulate

1 : to treat or operate with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner manipulate a pencil manipulate a machine

2a : to manage or utilize skillfully quantify our data and manipulate it statistically— S. L. Payne

b : to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage being used and manipulated by the knowing men around him — New Republic

3 : to change by artful or unfair means so as to serve one's purpose : doctor suspected that the police reports were manipulated— Evelyn G. Cruickshanks

Other Words from manipulate Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about manipulate

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Other Words from manipulate

manipulatable \ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tə-bəl

\ adjective

manipulation \ mə-ˌni-pyə-ˈlā-shən

\ noun

manipulator \ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tər

\ noun

manipulatory \ mə-ˈni-pyə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē

\ adjective

Examples of manipulate in a Sentence

The baby is learning to manipulate blocks. The mechanical arms are manipulated by a computer. The doctor manipulated my back. The program was designed to organize and manipulate large amounts of data. He's always been good at manipulating numbers in his head. As part of the experiment, students manipulated light and temperature to see how it affected the plants. She knows how to manipulate her parents to get what she wants. He felt that he had been manipulated by the people he trusted most. The editorial was a blatant attempt to manipulate public opinion. He's accused of trying to manipulate the price of the stock.

Recent Examples on the Web

Just last week, a different cybersecurity firm exposed an Iranian effort to manipulate U.S. social media with fake accounts. — Ken Dilanian, NBC News, "New study shows Russian propaganda may really have helped Trump," 1 July 2019 Instead of manipulating the country’s constitution, as his predecessor had attempted with such disastrous consequences, Pashinyan stuck fast to it, ensuring legitimacy for his eventual control of parliament. — Tom Ball, The New Republic, "How to Stage a Successful Revolution," 1 July 2019 But amid this push for upper basin residents to use less, Colorado’s booming Front Range economy is driving cities in the opposite direction: of manipulating rivers more by installing new dams, reservoirs and diversions. — Bruce Finley, The Denver Post, "A run through Colorado’s Yampa whitewater reveals the wildness that remains. But will the West’s rivers survive urban demands?," 23 June 2019 Another is credibly accused of manipulating tariff rates against the U.S. for years. — Rubén Rosario, Twin Cities, "Rosario: Cuba travel change is another whiff at the plate, according to some locals in the know," 13 June 2019 The report describes how Russian intelligence agents manipulated social media to stir up hostility toward Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and boost support for Trump. — Paul Wiseman, sacbee, "Haven’t read the Mueller report? This San Francisco bookshop will read it to you," 4 June 2019 Mueller’s prosecutors have already laid out detailed allegations of how Russia sought to manipulate Americans through social media, break into state voting systems and hack the email accounts of Democratic committees and party leaders. — Matt Zapotosky, The Seattle Times, "With the midterms over, special counsel Mueller faces key decisions in Russia investigation," 7 Nov. 2018 Over the last six years, networks of online antagonists have jumped on every mass tragedy to manipulate the media and propel this term into the mainstream. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "How a new class of “digital martyrs” are manipulating social networks," 18 Sep. 2018 Algorithms experiment many times inside a simulated world to learn a task such as how to manipulate objects through trial and error. — Tom Simonite, WIRED, "How Amazon Cloned a Neighborhood to Test Its Delivery Robots," 14 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'manipulate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near manipulate

Statistics for manipulate

Last Updated

5 Jul 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for manipulate

The first known use of manipulate was in 1834

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More Definitions for manipulate

manipulate

verb

English Language Learners Definition of manipulate

: to move or control (something) with your hands or by using a machine

medical : to move (muscles and bones) with your hands as a form of treatment

: to use or change (numbers, information, etc.) in a skillful way or for a particular purpose

See the full definition for manipulate in the English Language Learners Dictionary

manipulate

verb

ma·nip·u·late | \ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt

manipulated; manipulating

Kids Definition of manipulate

1 : to operate, use, or move with the hands or by mechanical means She learned to manipulate the levers of the machine.

2 : to manage skillfully and especially with intent to deceive The candidates tried to manipulate public opinion.

manipulate

transitive verb

ma·nip·u·late | \ mə-ˈnip-yə-ˌlāt

manipulated; manipulating

Medical Definition of manipulate

1 : to treat or operate with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner manipulate the fragments of a broken bone into correct position

2a : to manage or utilize skillfully

b : to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage

Other Words from manipulate

manipulative \ -ˈnip-yə-ˌlāt-iv

, -lət-

\ adjective

manipulativeness noun

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manipulate

transitive verb

ma·nip·u·late | \ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt

manipulated; manipulating

Legal Definition of manipulate

: to change by artful or unfair means so as to serve one's purpose specifically : to affect (the price of securities) artificially in order to deceive or mislead investors

Other Words from manipulate

manipulable \ mə-ˈni-pyə-lə-bəl

\ adjective

manipulation \ mə-ˌni-pyə-ˈlā-shən

\ noun

manipulative \ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tiv, -lə-tiv

\ adjective

manipulatively adverb

manipulativeness noun

manipulator \ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tər

\ noun

manipulatory \ mə-ˈni-pyə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē