manipulate
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
- manipulability noun
- manipulatable adjective
- manipulation noun
- manipulative adjective
- manipulatively adverb
- manipulator noun
- manipulatory adjective
- nonmanipulative adjective
- nonmanipulatory adjective
- outmanipulate verb (used with object)
- unmanipulatable adjective
- unmanipulated adjective
- unmanipulative adjective
- unmanipulatory adjective
Etymology
Origin of manipulate
First recorded in 1820–30; back formation from manipulation
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.
Team Canada was found to have manipulated the outcome of the Lake Placid North American Cup in early January.
From Los Angeles Times
But the space between drivers’ ears is easier to manipulate.
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI in federal court, alleging that the AI giant manipulated him into thinking he was contributing tens of millions of dollars to help launch a nonprofit.
These tasks require holding several pieces of information at once and manipulating them in the correct order.
From Science Daily
There were 58 singles in his innings as he rotated the strike at will, finding the gaps, manipulating the field - this isn't the exciting stuff but it is bedrock of what makes Root great.
From BBC
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.
