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
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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
Another method involves manipulating routing through Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).
—
Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 4 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
He is accused of lying his way onto the staff in the first place, manipulating young, female and minority employees to cover his tracks and sowing an environment of fear within the organization, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
—Irene Wright, USA Today, 30 Apr. 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
But even then, our team of artists got in there and just started manipulating things.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 20 Apr. 2026
The duo greatly expanded their sample library, ripping random melodies from thrift-store records and manipulating their own field recordings.
—Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2026
Trump is manipulating the markets.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2026
Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 4 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
He is accused of lying his way onto the staff in the first place, manipulating young, female and minority employees to cover his tracks and sowing an environment of fear within the organization, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
—Irene Wright, USA Today, 30 Apr. 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
But even then, our team of artists got in there and just started manipulating things.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 20 Apr. 2026
The duo greatly expanded their sample library, ripping random melodies from thrift-store records and manipulating their own field recordings.
—Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2026
Trump is manipulating the markets.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 16 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
-
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
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The Veterans is handling international sales, with domestic distribution rights represented by CAA Media Finance.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
7 May 2026
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The film is being launched as a package on the Cannes Marché du Film, with The Veterans repping international sales rights and CAA Media Finance handling domestic.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
7 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 12 May. 2026.
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