manipulate

verb

ma·​nip·​u·​late mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt 

manipulated; manipulating

transitive verb

1

: to move or control with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner

a baby learning to manipulate blocks

Parallel parking requires manipulating a large, heavy, expensive thing into a tight space …

—Aarian Marshall

2

a

: to manage or utilize skillfully

As part of the experiment, students manipulated light and temperature to see how it affected the plants.

… 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

The editorial was a blatant attempt to manipulate public opinion.

… being used and manipulated by the knowing men around him.

—New Republic

3

: to change by deceptive or unfair means so as to serve one's purpose : doctor

The company manipulated its accounts to exaggerate its profits.

… 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 of manipulate

• exploit
• deceive

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

Raving can be traced to the late 1980s, when artists like DJ Pierre and Spanky sparked a bright but short flame of acid house in Chicago clubs, manipulating synthesizers to create squelchy beats dancers could jack their bodies to. — Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 15 July 2026

Today’s elite are going to extraordinary lengths to manipulate their microclimates, from morphing mansions to underground snow rooms. — Elizabeth Fazzare, Architectural Digest, 15 July 2026

Sure, some people do manipulate the system, but the labor force participation rate is higher in Nordic countries than in the United States. — Nicholas D. Kristof, Mercury News, 14 July 2026

Everything from the environments to the tasks to the specific objects being manipulated can be carefully selected to show just what’s possible if all this could be sufficiently generalized—but that generalization is not yet proven. — ArsTechnica, 13 July 2026

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

Rhymes for manipulate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

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