manipulate
Americanverb (used with object)
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manipulates,
present (3rd person singular)
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manipulated,
past participle, past
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manipulating
present participle
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to manage or influence skillfully, especially in an unfair manner.
to manipulate people's feelings.
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to handle, manage, or use, especially with skill, in some process of treatment or performance.
to manipulate a large tractor.
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to adapt or change (accounts, figures, etc.) to suit one's purpose or advantage.
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Medicine/Medical. to examine or treat by skillful use of the hands, as in palpation, reduction of dislocations, or changing the position of a fetus.
verb
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(tr) to handle or use, esp with some skill, in a process or action
to manipulate a pair of scissors
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to negotiate, control, or influence (something or someone) cleverly, skilfully, or deviously
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to falsify (a bill, accounts, etc) for one's own advantage
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(in physiotherapy) to examine or treat manually, as in loosening a joint
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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manipulabilitynoun
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manipulationnoun
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manipulatornoun
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outmanipulateverb (used with object)
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manipulatableadjective
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manipulativeadjective
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manipulatoryadjective
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nonmanipulativeadjective
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nonmanipulatoryadjective
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unmanipulatableadjective
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unmanipulatedadjective
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unmanipulativeadjective
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unmanipulatoryadjective
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manipulativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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manipulatesimple
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manipulatessimple
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have manipulatedperfect
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has manipulatedperfect
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am manipulatingprogressive
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are manipulatingprogressive
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is manipulatingprogressive
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have been manipulatingperfect progressive
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has been manipulatingperfect progressive
Past
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manipulatedsimple
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had manipulatedperfect
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was manipulatingprogressive
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were manipulatingprogressive
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had been manipulatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of manipulate
First recorded in 1820–30; back formation from manipulation
Explanation
To manipulate something means to handle it skillfully, like the way a sculptor manipulates clay or a really good politician works a crowd. The verb manipulate evolved from manipulation, which back in the 1700s referred to a method of digging ore. So manipulating something originally only meant moving or arranging it by hand or mechanically. It wasn't until 1864 that people started using the word manipulate to describe someone exerting mental or emotional influence on others.
Vocabulary lists containing manipulate
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury (1950)
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The Westing Game
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Thus, when his mother started reading child psychology books to better understand a young Del Toro, he read them as well, so that he could try to manipulate her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
"Who are we allowing to feed into us and manipulate what media we consume, which bubbles we're in?" she continued.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
"I'm more able to feel like trying to have integrity and not manipulate and be ruthless."
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
In an earlier study, the researchers showed that they could directly manipulate vacuum fluctuations by using a magnetic field to reversibly switch the Casimir force between attraction and repulsion.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026
I doubt that I am overstating the case here: our capacity to understand and manipulate human genomes alters our conception of what it means to be “human.”
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Amazing the way he's gifted with the ball, the way he manipulates the ball, and also the way he's able to think for himself.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
“The allegation that Kelli manipulates or controls Jerry is false and deeply unfair. They share a loving and supportive partnership of more than 25 years,” a spokesman for Gerald and Kelli O. Ford said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
He manipulates the physical form of the ingredient to showcase different temperatures and textures: souffle, cream, biscuit, foam, and air.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
She’s showing us exactly how the majority manipulates the text until it gets where it wants to go.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
“You don’t have to be afraid of him. Some people act like witchery is responsible for everything that happens, when actually witchery only manipulates a small portion.”
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
Their goal was to determine whether bacterial communication could be manipulated to help maintain a healthier oral microbiome.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
For example, one Georgia ad included the disclaimer, “This video has been manipulated or generated with artificial intelligence,” while an Oklahoma ad said, “Political satire. AI-generated images do not depict actual events.”
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2026
The sham thrust to the forefront a growing problem: Law enforcement agencies across the country increasingly are receiving photos and other evidence that’s been manipulated or wholly generated with artificial intelligence, experts say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
“But you pick up that phone because you’re reacting in that heightened emotional state,” and that raises your risk of being manipulated.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
“I trust you, I do,” I said, “but I didn’t want you to think that I had forced my way in or manipulated you. I didn’t want you to be afraid of me.”
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
The Court of Appeal has quashed the conviction of Christian Bittar, a former Deutsche Bank trader who went to prison in 2018 for "manipulating" the benchmark interest rate, Euribor.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
That is where I try to land at the end: We’re not going to solve this problem by manipulating the chatbots.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026
Fielder finds himself drawn from behind the camera into the story, struggling to determine whether Holmes and Evans are being candid with him or manipulating him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
The Public Sentiment Institute issued a statement to the Hill newspaper that accepted responsibility for “disclosure failure” and “methodological error” but denied deliberately manipulating polling data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Milkman kept on staring at her fingers, manipulating the orange.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
