manipulate
verb
\
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
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from manipulate
\
adjective
\
noun
-lə-
\
adjective
\
noun
\
adjective
Synonyms for manipulate
Synonyms
contrive, engineer, finagle, finesse, frame, machinate, maneuver, mastermind, negotiate, wangle
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of manipulate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
New efforts will include working with third-party experts to help identify images that have been manipulated or otherwise distorted. — James Hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Under Trump, Americans are becoming more supportive of immigration," 22 June 2018 Jennifer and Martin left the religion in 2016, fed up with the way they’d been manipulated and intimidated by an organization that had once been a main pillar in their lives. — David Gambacorta, Philly.com, "Suspect in Jehovah's Witness child sex abuse case arrested," 24 May 2018 Comparing the actual footage of the news conference with the Watson/Sanders videos clearly shows that the latter has been manipulated. — Aaron Rupar, Vox, "White House press secretary uses fake Infowars video to justify banning CNN reporter," 8 Nov. 2018 Canada to South Korea, US to Italy, Scandinavia to Japan, and Italy to Thailand—that were reportedly manipulated between 2015 and 2017 as a result of BGP activities of China Telecom. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "Strange snafu misroutes domestic US Internet traffic through China Telecom," 6 Nov. 2018 Let’s hope DonaldDaters survives any further outside attempts to access its users’ data, from, say, a foreign party looking to manipulate them, likely in collusion with sympathetic U.S. interests. — Bridget Read, Vogue, "DonaldDaters, a Dating App for Trump Supporters, Launches—And Then Leaks Its Users’ Data," 16 Oct. 2018 That’s as opposed to a hysterectomy, which may involve removing the fallopian tubes, but doesn’t include manipulating them to decrease the odds of pregnancy. — Korin Miller, SELF, "16 Birth Control Myths Ob/Gyns Have Heard That Prove We Need Better Sex Ed," 19 July 2018 Follower counts have also consistently been manipulated; the comedian Joe Mande famously bought 1 million fake followers back in 2013. — Louise Matsakis, WIRED, "Why Your Twitter Follower Count Might Go Down This Week," 11 July 2018 The students, who range in age from 12 to 16, will display three metallic prints and a four-piece coaster collection showing their photos, none of which have been manipulated by digital software. — Sheryl Devore, Lake County News-Sun, "Back to basics: Local youths ditch smartphones, use 'real' cameras for Grayslake photo exhibit," 24 May 2018These 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.
Keep scrolling for more
Learn More about manipulate
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
'Handsome', 'Sophisticated', and 8 More...
'Handsome', 'Sophisticated', and 8 More Words That Changed Their Meanings
Language evolves
Dictionary Entries near manipulate
Statistics for manipulate
Last Updated
6 Dec 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for manipulate
The first known use of manipulate was in 1834
Keep scrolling for more
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
\
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
\
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
-lət-
\
adjective
Keep scrolling for more
manipulate
transitive verb
\
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
\
adjective
\
noun
\
adjective
\
noun
\
adjective
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on manipulate
What made you want to look up manipulate? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Late Autumn 2018 Words of the Day Quiz
-
- Which is a synonym of yahoo?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Share manipulate
Resources for manipulate