as in engineered
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1
as in exploited
to control or take advantage of by artful, unfair, or insidious means
the con man would slyly manipulate the emotions of his marks in order to win their sympathy and trust
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2
as in managed
to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently
spin doctors manipulating the data to make it seem more favorable to their preferred candidates
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in negotiated
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care
manipulated the schedule of presidential primaries so that the choice of the party elders would win the nomination
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Recent Examples of manipulated
Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 24 Jan. 2026
In the alternative hypothesis, the lottery was somehow manipulated.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2026
For years, the lawsuit alleged, the fire department had manipulated promotional processes to the disadvantage of Black firefighters.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 23 Jan. 2026
These findings could be consistent with testimony from Peres Magalhães that Banfield manipulated the crime scene after stabbing his wife.
—Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 23 Jan. 2026
In November, a man manipulated a credit-card machine to steal almost $10,000 worth of Pokémon and baseball cards from Tom Brady’s Card Vault store in Soho.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 23 Jan. 2026
Hitler manipulated science to prove his theories about race.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2026
The body says the government manipulated the facts around the death.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 23 Jan. 2026
Freedom from fear mattered because frightened societies are easily manipulated.
—Philip Martin, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Mazzola, 43, also allegedly participated in an armed robbery to steal a manipulated shuffling machine.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
Higgins stole $356,181 through the scheme and reportedly manipulated the company’s accounting records to conceal her crimes, according to court records.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 24 Jan. 2026
In the alternative hypothesis, the lottery was somehow manipulated.
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2026
For years, the lawsuit alleged, the fire department had manipulated promotional processes to the disadvantage of Black firefighters.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 23 Jan. 2026
These findings could be consistent with testimony from Peres Magalhães that Banfield manipulated the crime scene after stabbing his wife.
—Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 23 Jan. 2026
In November, a man manipulated a credit-card machine to steal almost $10,000 worth of Pokémon and baseball cards from Tom Brady’s Card Vault store in Soho.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 23 Jan. 2026
Hitler manipulated science to prove his theories about race.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2026
The body says the government manipulated the facts around the death.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 23 Jan. 2026
Freedom from fear mattered because frightened societies are easily manipulated.
—Philip Martin, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manipulated
Adjective
-
Without much public debate or planning, these semi-engineered levees took on a critical and unintended role.—
Farshid Vahedifard,
The Conversation,
29 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.—
Ezra Klein,
Mercury News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Instead, it was siphoned off and exploited.—
Jennifer Nassour,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Fortunately, the children have a lot of bruises, scrapes and cuts, all stuff that is easily managed.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Conducted in Troia, Portugal, the trial showcased real-time coordination between autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), all managed through a single, unified command interface.—
Sabbir Rangwala,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Last year, Canada signed a defense cooperation agreement with the European Union and negotiated a pact that allowed Canadian defense firms to tap into the EU’s $170 billion loan program meant to spur military modernization.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Rather than raze the city days before it was recovered by the Allied forces, Choltitz went rogue, negotiated a truce, and surrendered the city.—
Sally Susman,
Time,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The company in 2020 pleaded guilty to distributing adulterated ice-cream products and agreed to pay a fine over the outbreak.—
Dylan Tokar,
WSJ,
2 Feb. 2023
-
And while most of those overdoses involved the illicit synthetic opioid fentanyl, experts say that an adulterated and contaminated drug supply is also leading to deaths.—
Nadia Kounang,
CNN,
17 Mar. 2022
Verb
-
Challengers should give Marylanders the option to choose a new direction and remove the need to confront the painful reality that they were deceived.—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Trump told people that Rupert deceived him.—
Gabriel Sherman,
Vanity Fair,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
An entire population can be handled.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Items should be handled once (think hung, shelved, or stored) rather than set down temporarily.—
Caroline Lubinsky,
Martha Stewart,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Inside, there are three concentric circles of chairs arranged on a red carpet and, overhead, a white globe resembling a hot-air balloon.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2026
-
According to some of the documents, witnesses described a system where Maxwell and Epstein arranged domestic and international travel, provided logistical support for passports, and used modeling fronts to recruit foreign nationals.—
Luke Barr,
ABC News,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Manipulated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manipulated. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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