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:
Puppeteers manipulate dynamic horses, dragons, dogs, jousters and ravens alongside 36 cast members.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
To illustrate this point, Cavallo referred to Argentina’s attempt to manipulate its inflation data in 2007.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Research in the field is advancing quickly because terahertz frequencies, 1,000 times faster than used for electronic components, could offer powerful new ways to examine and manipulate matter.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
Issuing the summons against the four men last year, District Judge Stephen Leake said the EA alleged there had been "a deliberate plan by officers of the company to manipulate the OSM regime".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
I wasn’t so drunk or sick that I had forgotten how to manipulate Mom.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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
The Rams star quarterback manipulates opposing players with his eyes.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
Helios, the most advanced quantum computer ever built, manipulates them with lasers to solve complex questions that would take conventional machines centuries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
Konan, Mark explains how the 5–4 decision manipulates commonly understood definitions of “miscarriage” and “loss” in order to afford immunity to the U.S.
From Slate ● Feb. 26, 2026
A writer, like a cinematographer, manipulates the viewer’s perspective on an ongoing story, with the verbal equivalent of camera angles and quick cuts. the marital, the medical, and sometimes both at once.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
This fuelled suspicions that the results had been manipulated.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
During interviews conducted after the experiment, most participants said they had not realized that their posture was being manipulated.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Zhou’s attorneys would later allege that photos Wan sent of the children were manipulated with AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Of particular concern for the EU are deepfakes -- text, images, videos and sounds that appear to be real but are generated or manipulated by AI.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
They believed the public was being manipulated by leaders in the media who continued to treat the spirit “delusion” as worthwhile to report as facts.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
It also prevents sides from manipulating the cap.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
"We are already observing individuals exploiting the new Google Earth web tool to make military positions, relabel buildings as schools, and experiment with manipulating the information environment," the group wrote on X.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
The NFL prohibits renegotiating contracts after the regular season ends, a rule meant to limit teams from manipulating future cap charges once they know their final record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Who do you think is doing the manipulating?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
In a perfect world, an economist could run a controlled experiment just as a physicist or a biologist does: setting up two samples, randomly manipulating one of them, and measuring the effect.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
