manipulate

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

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Examples: manipulate in a Sentence

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

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manipulative

play \mə-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

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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

According to Oliver, that is troubling because most people should want to know whether or not a hostile foreign government tried to manipulate the U.S. election.

— melissa locker, Time, "'If This is a Witch Hunt, Then Witches Exist.' John Oliver Returns to Mueller's Russia Investigation," 11 June 2018
Kuzma alleges his car loans were manipulated by Crowe.

— matthew glowicki, The Courier-Journal, "Credit union worker accused of stealing from cops now faces foreclosure," 6 June 2018
Other world leaders have also tried to manipulate Trump to their own ends.

— matt ford, The New Republic, "The World’s Most Powerful Rube," 4 June 2018
Jones had said on his radio show the day the previous lawsuit was filed that the Sandy Hook victims are being manipulated by Democrats and those who want to destroy the Second Amendment.

— dave altimari, courant.com, "More Sandy Hook Families, FBI Agent File Lawsuit Against Infowars' Alex Jones," 23 May 2018
Split Ends While Englund and others wrestle with individual electrons, some scientists are diving even deeper into the quantum world and trying to manipulate mere fractions of electrons.

— neil savage, Scientific American, "What Are the Limits of Manipulating Nature?," 8 May 2018
As a teenager, my OCD seized that fear of dishonesty and manipulated me with it.

— shannon purser, Teen Vogue, "Shannon Purser on Coping With OCD and Suicidal Ideation," 4 May 2018
The film's funniest moments come as Leonardo adjusts to his new lifestyle, manipulated by Kate.

— randy cordova, azcentral, "Eugenio Derbez keeps 'Overboard' afloat," 3 May 2018
Over at Chateau Lodge, Veronica tells Hermione she's done trying to manipulate Archie into helping her with Fred's election.

— christopher rosa, Glamour, "'Riverdale' Season 2 Episode 15 Recap: Everyone Is Creepy, and Everyone Is Evil," 14 Mar. 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

manipulate Synonyms

Synonyms

contrive, engineer, finagle, finesse, frame, machinate, maneuver, mastermind, negotiate, wangle;

Near Antonyms

blow, bobble, botch, bungle, butcher, flub, fumble, gum (up), louse up, mangle, mess (up), mishandle, muff;

angle (for), compass, intrigue, plot, scheme;

connive;

brew, concoct, cook (up), hatch;

captain, command, conduct, direct, handle, manage, quarterback, run;

gerrymander;

MANIPULATE Defined for English Language Learners

manipulate

verb

: 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

MANIPULATE Defined for Kids

manipulate

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

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 \

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

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manipulative

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

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manipulativeness

noun

Law Dictionary

manipulate

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

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

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