manipulate

verb

ma·​nip·​u·​late mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt 

manipulated; manipulating

transitive verb

1

: to treat or operate with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner

manipulate a pencil

manipulate a machine

2

a

: to manage or utilize skillfully

quantify our data and manipulate it statistically

—S. L. Payne

b

: to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage

being used and manipulated by the knowing men around him

—New Republic

3

: to change by artful or unfair means so as to serve one's purpose : doctor

suspected that the police reports were manipulated

—Evelyn G. Cruickshanks

manipulatable

mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tə-bəl 

adjective

manipulation

mə-ˌni-pyə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

manipulator

mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tər 

noun

manipulatory

mə-ˈni-pyə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē 

adjective

Synonyms

• exploit
• play (upon)

Examples of manipulate in a Sentence

The baby is learning to manipulate blocks.

The mechanical arms are manipulated by a computer.

The doctor manipulated my back.

The program was designed to organize and manipulate large amounts of data.

He's always been good at manipulating numbers in his head.

As part of the experiment, students manipulated light and temperature to see how it affected the plants.

She knows how to manipulate her parents to get what she wants.

He felt that he had been manipulated by the people he trusted most.

The editorial was a blatant attempt to manipulate public opinion.

He's accused of trying to manipulate the price of the stock.

Recent Examples on the Web

But all of that changed starting in 2017, when Mr. Trump became president amid the F.B.I. investigation into Russia’s covert attempt to manipulate the 2016 election and the nature of the ties between his campaign and Moscow. —Charlie Savage, New York Times, 15 Dec. 2024

Symbolic capitalists—academics, commentators, lawyers, consultants—manipulate words or data rather than making things with their hands. —Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2024

Some feel China could use TikTok to manipulate major global and U.S. events. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024

Russia’s war on Ukraine Russia, in their war against Ukraine, has been manipulating information and spreading disinformation online as a means of information warfare, including by the use of AI and deepfake. —Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from manipulation, from French, from manipuler to handle an apparatus in chemistry, ultimately from Latin manipulus

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

manipulate

verb

ma·​nip·​u·​late mə-ˈnip-yə-ˌlāt 

manipulated; manipulating

1

: to treat or operate with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means especially with skill

manipulate the trackball

2

: to manage or use skillfully

manipulate masses of statistics

3

: to manage especially with intent to deceive

manipulate accounts

manipulate public opinion

manipulation

-ˌnip-yə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

manipulator

-ˈnip-yə-ˌlāt-ər 

noun

Medical Definition

manipulate

transitive verb

ma·​nip·​u·​late mə-ˈnip-yə-ˌlāt 

manipulated; manipulating

1

: to treat or operate with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner

manipulate the fragments of a broken bone into correct position

2

a

: to manage or utilize skillfully

b

: to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage

manipulative

-ˈnip-yə-ˌlāt-iv  -lət- 

adjective

manipulativeness noun

Legal Definition

manipulate

transitive verb

ma·​nip·​u·​late mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt 

manipulated; manipulating

: to change by artful or unfair means so as to serve one's purpose

specifically : to affect (the price of securities) artificially in order to deceive or mislead investors

manipulable

mə-ˈni-pyə-lə-bəl 

adjective

manipulation

mə-ˌni-pyə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

manipulative

mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tiv, -lə-tiv 

adjective

manipulatively adverb

manipulativeness noun

manipulator

mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tər 

noun

manipulatory

mə-ˈni-pyə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē 

adjective