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
Unlike conventional breaches that hinge on phishing or user error, this exploit, now known as EchoLeak, bypassed human behavior entirely, silently extracting confidential information by manipulating how Copilot interacts with user data.
—
Hugo Huang, Harvard Business Review, 9 Jan. 2026
Disney is depicted as manipulating this framework to its benefit and to the detriment of Dish and its customers.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 6 Jan. 2026
Kurt's key takeaway This campaign shows how attackers are shifting from breaking systems to manipulating trust.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 2 Jan. 2026
Thursday night’s 36-point performance largely was built off 7-of-14 3-point shooting, often manipulating the stout Detroit defense to create his own shooting space.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2026
Federal filings say Jones attempted to conceal the scheme by manipulating financial reports, altering emails, and falsely attributing large credit card balances to legitimate team operations.
—Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025
By levitating and manipulating objects in real-world environments, the technique could enable interactive 3D displays without headsets and support new forms of 3D printing that move beyond today’s layer-by-layer, single-material approach.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 12 Dec. 2025
Not over-analyzing or manipulating.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 12 Dec. 2025
And it's created by manipulating these individual strips and coils of dough.
—Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Dec. 2025
Hugo Huang, Harvard Business Review, 9 Jan. 2026
Disney is depicted as manipulating this framework to its benefit and to the detriment of Dish and its customers.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 6 Jan. 2026
Kurt's key takeaway This campaign shows how attackers are shifting from breaking systems to manipulating trust.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 2 Jan. 2026
Thursday night’s 36-point performance largely was built off 7-of-14 3-point shooting, often manipulating the stout Detroit defense to create his own shooting space.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2026
Federal filings say Jones attempted to conceal the scheme by manipulating financial reports, altering emails, and falsely attributing large credit card balances to legitimate team operations.
—Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025
By levitating and manipulating objects in real-world environments, the technique could enable interactive 3D displays without headsets and support new forms of 3D printing that move beyond today’s layer-by-layer, single-material approach.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 12 Dec. 2025
Not over-analyzing or manipulating.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 12 Dec. 2025
And it's created by manipulating these individual strips and coils of dough.
—Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manipulating
Verb
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Amidst the ongoing privacy issues surrounding door cameras and the backlash over social media giants exploiting user data to train their own models, today’s robots invite both passive and active observers into our homes and leave our data exposed to bad actors.—
Jason Corso,
Fortune,
6 Jan. 2026
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For years, the debate around this issue has been quietly deadlocked between the forces for common sense reform to dramatically lower the cost of construction, and personal injury lawyers who reap increasingly large windfalls by exploiting this law.—
Elizabeth Crowley,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Her mother accompanied her to appointments, managing logistics and providing emotional support.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
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Tina Olson, a managing attorney with the Juvenile Lifer Unit in the State Appellate Defender Office, says the decision doesn't minimize the crimes committed – or the victims impacted – but instead ensures defendants are given fair punishments.—
Elaine Rojas-Castillo,
CBS News,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Schumer on Saturday persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer argues Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Relying Too Much On Garbage Disposals Though the name may be deceiving, garbage disposals aren’t actually designed to dispose of all garbage.—
Quincy Bulin,
Southern Living,
3 Jan. 2026
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That level of eye-deceiving detail falters in wide shots, however, some of which suffer from unflattering flat lighting that in certain instances recall computer screensavers of yore, given their colorful artificiality.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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With 40 grind settings and a 300 gram bean hopper, this electric grinder is capable of handling grinding for larger batches.—
Jack Byram,
Architectural Digest,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Resist the Temptation to Dig In The hardest part of building a charcuterie board is avoiding the temptation to start snacking as soon as you’re done arranging the board.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 Jan. 2026
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As a newcomer to composing and arranging for strings, Simon benefitted greatly by working with a group readily available for consultation and collaboration.—
Andrew Gilbert,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The main challenges include aligning climate finance commitments between developed and developing countries, addressing the socio-economic impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations and ensuring that emission reduction targets are consistent with the latest climate science.—
Matthew Glasser,
ABC News,
9 Nov. 2025
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By addressing it daily, your clothes chair remains useful for quick drops but won’t become a burden.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Pine works swiftly to gather information on Roper's deal and even forms an alliance with his boss's girlfriend Jed (Elizabeth Debicki) who is plotting her own escape.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
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But Izzy Johnston is plotting a way for her Warriors to rise above all those squads.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Manipulating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manipulating. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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