1
as in exploiting
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in managing
to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently
spin doctors manipulating the data to make it seem more favorable to their preferred candidates
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in negotiating
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of manipulating
More ruthless than ever, Tony Baddingham (Tennant) is determined to dismantle his rivals piece-by-piece, weaponizing scandal and manipulating those closest to him to maintain his grip on power.
—
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 13 May 2026
Eric Richins' other sister, Katie Richins-Benson, accused Kouri Richins of isolating and manipulating the couple's sons while attempting to take their inheritance.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 13 May 2026
One monitor shows guitarist Jonny Greenwood manipulating a strange electronic device exuding tangled wires; another loops footage of a burning building.
—Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 12 May 2026
Influential voices on the right, opposed to American involvement in Iran, continue to accuse Israel of manipulating America to do its bidding in the Middle East, echoing the age-old antisemitic trope of Jews pulling the strings of global politics.
—Joshua M. Davidson, New York Daily News, 11 May 2026
Unlike previous moon rover-type robots, this new one comes with a pair of robotic arms for handling and manipulating tools.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 10 May 2026
However, manipulating elections or even giving the appearance of fixing an election is what an anti-Democracy person would do.
—Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026
No one is better at manipulating the system and drawing questionable calls than SGA.
—Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2026
This can involve pretending to be an IT customer support and manipulating an employee at a target company into handing over internal access.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 24 Apr. 2026
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 13 May 2026
Eric Richins' other sister, Katie Richins-Benson, accused Kouri Richins of isolating and manipulating the couple's sons while attempting to take their inheritance.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 13 May 2026
One monitor shows guitarist Jonny Greenwood manipulating a strange electronic device exuding tangled wires; another loops footage of a burning building.
—Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 12 May 2026
Influential voices on the right, opposed to American involvement in Iran, continue to accuse Israel of manipulating America to do its bidding in the Middle East, echoing the age-old antisemitic trope of Jews pulling the strings of global politics.
—Joshua M. Davidson, New York Daily News, 11 May 2026
Unlike previous moon rover-type robots, this new one comes with a pair of robotic arms for handling and manipulating tools.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 10 May 2026
However, manipulating elections or even giving the appearance of fixing an election is what an anti-Democracy person would do.
—Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026
No one is better at manipulating the system and drawing questionable calls than SGA.
—Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2026
This can involve pretending to be an IT customer support and manipulating an employee at a target company into handing over internal access.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 24 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manipulating
Verb
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Venezuela and the Caribbean nation — who in the 1990s signed a delimitation treaty establishing the terms for exploiting any hydrocarbon deposits on both sides of the border strip — share the Gulf of Paria, an inland sea at Venezuela’s westernmost end and south of the island of Trinidad.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
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Breaking the sound barrier without breaking hardware moves us a step closer to fully exploiting this new mode of planetary exploration.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Your co-parent is managing treatment, uncertainty and the very real fear of how this will affect his relationship with his daughter.—
Jann Blackstone,
Boston Herald,
10 May 2026
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Researchers around the world continue to face difficulties in managing millions of qubits reliably, leading many companies and laboratories to prioritize more achievable near-term applications using systems built with dozens or hundreds of qubits instead of massive large-scale architectures.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
10 May 2026
Verb
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Marandi served as an adviser to Iran’s negotiating team during the 2015 nuclear talks and still has close ties to the Iranian government.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
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The sides having been negotiating since the summer of 2024, and the NFL had begun the hiring process for replacement officials last month.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
Verb
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He's accused of deceiving more than 6,500 pet owners and denying them promised burial services.—
Meghan Schiller,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
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Journalists must avoid deception, but the primary instance when it may be excused is in deceiving certain sources during undercover investigations on an issue of public importance.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
14 May 2026
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Protagonist Pictures is handling sales.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Such pairings are one of Wilson’s strengths, his eye for portraiture matched by his skill for arranging images on the page.—
Casey Cep,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
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Others kick things up by arranging private beach bonfires in the evening, catamaran outings by day, surf lessons with Engstrom Surf, and even customized tarot card readings.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 May 2026
Verb
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Ude has already observed progress in addressing Nigeria’s cultural disconnect.—
Daron James,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
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The session will examine AI’s impact on production, ethics and creative work, while also addressing the rise of vertical microdramas as a mobile-first format.—
Emiliano de Pablos,
Variety,
11 May 2026
Verb
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All the men were accused of plotting in South Florida and hiring a squad of former Colombian soldiers to violently overthrow Haiti’s president in a coup scheme that turned from his ouster to his assassination a couple of weeks before his death.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
8 May 2026
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Sure, Bad Bunny could be plotting a merch drop related to his current Debí Tirar Más Fotos world tour, but the items listed aren’t typical apparel, like a t-shirt or baseball hat.—
Maya Georgi,
Rolling Stone,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Manipulating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manipulating. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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