as in deceptive
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Recent Examples of manipulative
Akerman, who stars alongside Brittany Snow as manipulative socialite Margo Banks in the Netflix series adaptation of The Hunting Wives from Lionsgate, will receive the Impact Award at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto.
—
Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
Sometimes sympathy can feel very manipulative to me in movies, and most of the time, not really earned.
—Outside, 10 Mar. 2026
In the film, Niney plays a charismatic but manipulative self-help coach whose influence spirals out of control.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 4 Mar. 2026
And when Varley returns to Portia after a stint with the manipulative and tempestuous Lady Penwood (Katie Leung), that’s not Bridgerton simply regressing to a status quo.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for manipulative
Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
Sometimes sympathy can feel very manipulative to me in movies, and most of the time, not really earned.
—Outside, 10 Mar. 2026
In the film, Niney plays a charismatic but manipulative self-help coach whose influence spirals out of control.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 4 Mar. 2026
And when Varley returns to Portia after a stint with the manipulative and tempestuous Lady Penwood (Katie Leung), that’s not Bridgerton simply regressing to a status quo.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for manipulative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manipulative
Adjective
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On March 24, the jury found that Meta had violated the state’s consumer protection law by knowingly engaging in an unfair or deceptive trade practice.—
Diana Novak Jones,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
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Admittedly, Palace’s results had been rather deceptive.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Any suggestion of a cohesive, equitable tax policy in Florida has been shredded by petty partisanship, deceitful tactics and fake populism.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Mar. 2026
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In a view shared by many Jews, Aleph suspects that the Messianic movement is a facade — a deceitful tactic aimed at proselytization.—
Asaf Elia-Shalev,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The tech entrepreneur, who founded a fitness app and a financial management platform catering to young and wealthy customers, also characterizes Khanna’s stock trading as hypocritical since the congressman campaigns on easing inequality.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
3 Mar. 2026
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The permanent observer of the 22-nation Arab League, Maged Abdelaziz, suggested Israel was being hypocritical in justifying its military attack by saying it was intended to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.—
Edith M. Lederer,
Fortune,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The show portrays devious, cocaine-huffing young bankers climbing the ranks of global finance, and Yasmin—or Yas, for short—has cut the least noble path of all.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
2 Mar. 2026
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Or, there are a few things audiences shouldn’t even think about during one, let alone find the time to worry about — especially not if our seemingly devious criminals aren’t worrying about them, either.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In state media comedy shows, jokes about Putin are told from time to time, but they are used to bolster his image as a powerful, cunning leader, and hold up Russia as a great country.—
Neringa Klumbytė,
The Conversation,
4 Mar. 2026
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These ambitious, cunning, and often amoral Cold War operatives were usually marginal or even inconsequential figures at home.—
Alfred McCoy,
Literary Hub,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Until then, smuggling weed had been a grand adventure, an escape from a society that had just thrown Prager’s generation into a meat grinder in Vietnam, a repudiation of the crooked politicians and backward preachers and greedy capitalists who were running the world.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
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For the most part, this lineup, chock full of All-Stars and Hall of Famers, has struggled to put up crooked numbers.—
Johnny Flores Jr,
New York Times,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The Celtics weren’t able to create any distance from their pesky hosts until Brown hit a pair of 3-pointers late in the half — one off a nifty underhanded pass from Neemias Queta, the other set up by a Scheierman offensive rebound.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
21 Mar. 2026
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In California, the law prevents incumbents from pulling off the kind of underhanded stunt that Garcia and Daines managed.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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After taking scheming actions, the model sometimes doubles down on its deception when asked follow-up questions.—
Harper’s Magazine,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
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What initially seems to be a satire about corporate downsizing evolves into a kind of scheming caper romp, before downshifting into something that feels more horror-comedy structured.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Manipulative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manipulative. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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