manipulate

verb

ma·​nip·​u·​late mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt 

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

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

Synonyms

• exploit
• play (upon)

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.

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Recent Examples on the Web

Vines of flowers twine over shoulders and across bodices with a naturalistic grace; pale peach ostrich feathers are manipulated into delicate wisps cinched with small grosgrain bows. —Rachel Tashjian, Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2023

The 12-foot puppet is controlled by one person inside, and two others who manipulate the arms. —Maeve Lawler, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2023

It’s been a problem all season, regardless how the Rangers have tried to manipulate roles or personnel. —Evan Grant, Dallas News, 7 Sep. 2023

Indiana probably won’t milk the clock too much against Indiana State on Friday, but expect to see the Hoosiers manipulating the new rule to their advantage against teams of similar or better skill this season. —Zion Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Sep. 2023

Security researchers have demonstrated how indirect prompt injections could be used to steal data, manipulate someone’s résumé, and run code remotely on a machine. —Matt Burgess, WIRED, 6 Sep. 2023

Her submissiveness to Tedros seems to indicate that she’s being manipulated. —Maya Phillips, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2023

Martí Gutierrez moved the dish over to a larger microscope, equipped with pipettes manipulated by joysticks. —Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2023

That’s a departure from the approach tech companies took after Russia manipulated social media to attempt to swing the 2016 election to Trump. —Sarah Ellison, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

manipulate

verb

ma·​nip·​u·​late mə-ˈnip-yə-ˌlāt 

manipulated; manipulating

1

: to treat or operate with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means especially with skill

manipulate the trackball

2

: to manage or use skillfully

manipulate masses of statistics

3

: to manage especially with intent to deceive

manipulate accounts

manipulate public opinion

manipulation

-ˌnip-yə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

manipulator

-ˈnip-yə-ˌlāt-ər 

noun

Medical Definition

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

manipulative

-ˈnip-yə-ˌlāt-iv  -lət- 

adjective

manipulativeness noun

Legal Definition

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

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 

adjective