as in deceptive
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of manipulative
Your data The surveillance capitalism system requires people to unwittingly participate in a manipulative cycle of group- and self-surveillance.
—
Anne Toomey McKenna, The Conversation, 21 Apr. 2026
Hamm played the manipulative ad man on Mad Men for seven seasons from 2007 to 2015, alongside his on-screen wife, Betty, played by January Jones.
—Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 19 Apr. 2026
This is why all the whining and complaining from small market teams across the sport is manipulative nonsense.
—Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who could repeat as league MVP, is as efficient and manipulative on offense as ever.
—The Athletic Nba Staff, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for manipulative
Anne Toomey McKenna, The Conversation, 21 Apr. 2026
Hamm played the manipulative ad man on Mad Men for seven seasons from 2007 to 2015, alongside his on-screen wife, Betty, played by January Jones.
—Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 19 Apr. 2026
This is why all the whining and complaining from small market teams across the sport is manipulative nonsense.
—Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who could repeat as league MVP, is as efficient and manipulative on offense as ever.
—The Athletic Nba Staff, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for manipulative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manipulative
Adjective
-
Charted on an outdated seating map weeks before the official on-sale date, these deceptive listings falsely suggested the performance was almost sold out.—
Lori Dimun,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
-
There is a broader issue of manufacturers selling dangerous products and promoting them with deceptive advertising to lure youth into using their dangerous, ineffective products.—
Jad Abdel Nour,
Hartford Courant,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
In classical Athens the playwright Aristophanes attacked purveyors of knowledge for being intellectually untrustworthy, essentially deceitful.—
Clare Bucknell,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Worse yet, its structure is deceitful.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Seems extremely hypocritical, no?—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
How hypocritical that of me, Amy, and Gretchen, the only one married is me.—
David Sedaris,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Ama, on the other hand, has grown up with a mom who has not only given her access to TV, movies, and books but has become a keystone cultural figure through her devious and dominating work on shows like Survivor and The Traitors.—
Marah Eakin,
Vulture,
7 May 2026
-
The characters are eccentric, devious and mysterious.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
There’s arguably no one better placed to collaborate with VFX artists on a motion-capture performance than Serkis, who’s delivered innocence, cunning, cruelty, longing, and kindness in roles that run from Golum to Caesar to King Kong himself.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
4 May 2026
-
As Michael moves into solo stardom and makes cunning business moves, the film captures how his seemingly naive idealism was also a form of ambition.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Giuliani was elected New York’s mayor in 1993 after serving as one of the nation’s highest-profile prosecutors, taking on mobsters and crooked Wall Street traders.—
Michael R. Sisak,
Chicago Tribune,
4 May 2026
-
Giuliani was elected New York’s mayor in 1993 after serving as one of the nation’s highest-profile prosecutors, taking on mobsters and crooked Wall Street traders.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
3 May 2026
Adjective
-
The Knicks won Game 3 Friday night, and are on the verge of sweeping their rivals, which serves Philadelphia right for trying to pull off such an underhanded scheme.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
9 May 2026
-
Two days after Judson Independent School District trustees fired him, former Superintendent Milton Fields shot back, claiming board President Monica Ryan led an underhanded campaign to oust him.—
Sophia Veneziano,
San Antonio Express-News,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, and Chace Crawford catapulted to fame playing the scheming social butterflies flitting around Gossip Girl's Upper East Side.—
Rachel DeSantis,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Apr. 2026
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Manipulative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manipulative. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
