manipulate

verb ma·nip·u·late \ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of manipulate

manipulated; manipulating

transitive verb

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

2 a :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

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manipulatable

play \-ˌlā-tə-bəl\ adjective

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manipulation

play \-ˌni-pyə-ˈlā-shən\ noun

—

manipulative

play \-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tiv, -lə-\ adjective

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manipulatively

adverb

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manipulativeness

noun

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manipulator

play \-ˌlā-tər\ noun

—

manipulatory

play \-lə-ˌtȯr-ē\ adjective

See manipulate defined for English-language learners

See manipulate defined for kids

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 of manipulate from the Web

Dr. Luke’s team is attempting to manipulate the truth and draw press attention to their case by exaggerating Lady Gaga’s role and falsely accusing her of dodging reasonable requests.

— adam darby, kansascity, "Lady Gaga subpoenaed to testify in bitter legal fight between Dr. Luke and Kesha," 30 July 2017
Based on the principles of Ayurveda, India’s traditional system of natural medicine, this holistic treatment involves manipulating the body’s marma points (vital energy centers).

— lynn hammer, star-telegram, "Girls getaway," 28 July 2017
MLB is concerned teams used the new 10-day disabled list, down from 15 days, around the four-day All-Star break to manipulate rosters.

— ronald blum, courant.com, "Manfred: MLB open to more aggressively managing change on field," 11 July 2017
Vladimir Putin is a former KGB agent with decades of experience in manipulating whomever is seated across from him.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Says It Is ‘an Honor’ to Meet With Vladmir Putin," 7 July 2017
The chemicals on the shelves—bottles of pure alcohol, bins of sugar, protein, and salts—are standard issue for growing microbes and manipulating their genes.

— john bohannon, Science | AAAS, "A new breed of scientist, with brains of silicon," 5 July 2017
Investigators arrested Dale Leary and his second wife last month on sex charges, saying the two had lured the wife's 14-year-old sister to Miami and manipulated her into participating in sex acts and pornographic photo shoots.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "Foreign-exchange host snared in bizarre sex scandal found dead, Miami-Dade police say," 5 July 2017
Are central bankers twisted geniuses manipulating the markets in order to meet their inflation goals?

— james mackintosh, WSJ, "Twisted Geniuses or Bumbling Ex-Academics?," 29 June 2017
Take the fight to the ground as if trying to manipulate a limb, then transition to a triangle choke.

— jon wertheim, SI.com, "Fading fast: Ronda Rousey shows how quickly the 'where are they now' point can be reached," 28 June 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of manipulate

back-formation from manipulation, from French, from manipuler to handle an apparatus in chemistry, ultimately from Latin manipulus

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1834

See Words from the same year

manipulate Synonyms

Synonyms

exploit, play (upon)

Related Words

engineer, finagle, jockey, maneuver; beguile, bluff, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fool, gull, hoax, hoodwink, kid, shanghai, snow, take in, trick; intrigue, machinate, plot, scheme; arrange, contrive, devise, finesse, mastermind; cheat, chisel, con, defraud, fleece, gyp, hustle, swindle

Near Antonyms

botch, bungle, foozle, fumble, goof (up), louse up, mess (up), mishandle, muff, scamp

MANIPULATE Defined for Kids

manipulate

verb ma·nip·u·late \ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt \

Definition of manipulate for Students

manipulated; manipulating

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.

Medical Dictionary

manipulate

transitive verb ma·nip·u·late \ mə-ˈnip-yə-ˌlāt \

medical Definition of manipulate

manipulated; manipulating

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

2 a :to manage or utilize skillfully

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

—

manipulative

play \-ˈnip-yə-ˌlāt-iv, -lət-\ adjective

—

manipulativeness

noun

Law Dictionary

manipulate

transitive verb ma·nip·u·late \ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt \

legal Definition of manipulate

manipulated; manipulating

: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

—

manipulable

play \mə-ˈni-pyə-lə-bəl\ adjective

—

manipulation

play \mə-ˌni-pyə-ˈlā-shən\ noun

—

manipulative

play \mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tiv, -lə-tiv\ adjective

—

manipulatively

adverb

—

manipulativeness

noun

—

manipulator

play \mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tər\ noun

—

manipulatory

play \mə-ˈni-pyə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē\ adjective

Learn More about manipulate

See words that rhyme with manipulate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for manipulate Spanish Central: Translation of manipulate Nglish: Translation of manipulate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of manipulate for Arabic speakers

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manipulate

Definition of manipulate

manipulatable

manipulation

manipulative

manipulatively

manipulativeness

manipulator

manipulatory

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Examples of manipulate in a Sentence

Recent Examples of manipulate from the Web

Origin and Etymology of manipulate

manipulate Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

MANIPULATE Defined for Kids

manipulate

Definition of manipulate for Students

Medical Dictionary

manipulate

medical Definition of manipulate

manipulative

manipulativeness

Law Dictionary

manipulate

legal Definition of manipulate

manipulable

manipulation

manipulative

manipulatively

manipulativeness

manipulator

manipulatory

Learn More about manipulate

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