manipulation

American  

[muh-nip-yuh-lay-shuhn] / məˌnɪp jəˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

• manipulations
  plural

1. the act of manipulating.

2. the state or fact of being manipulated.

3. skillful or artful management.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• manipulations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of manipulation

First recorded in 1720–30; from French, equivalent to manipule “handful” ( see maniple) + -ation -ation

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Explanation

Manipulation is the skillful handling, controlling or using of something or someone. Whether it's the sculpture you made in art class or how you convinced your friend to do your homework — both are considered manipulation. From the Latin word for "handful," manipulation certainly has much to do with using your hands to move or shape something, like a good DJ manipulating two totally different tunes into the perfect mashup. But this word also has some negative connotations — a manipulative person knows how to twist words, play on emotions and otherwise manage a situation in a sneaky fashion to get what he wants.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

manipulation manipulations

But Bridgman said they appeared to be motivated by profit, not manipulation.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Trainers used manual manipulation to find Diaz’ ideal arm slot and build muscle memory, and he was quickly cleared to resume throwing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Newer generative AI systems can create footage that lacks many of the obvious artifacts associated with earlier deepfake technology, making them a more difficult target for detectors trained primarily on older forms of manipulation.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

"Emotional manipulation is built into the business model."

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

The crimes committed by Enron included hidden partnerships, disguised debt, and the manipulation of energy markets.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

When researchers added two optimized passive diffractive layers while testing more difficult deepfake manipulations, detection accuracy improved by ~6.8%.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

You owe yourself the power of living in your truth, free from the emotional manipulations of others.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 4, 2026

We at least don’t have to guess about the efficacy of their manipulations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

Still, it’s unclear whether AI’s digital manipulations could match the proverbial human touch.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2025

Tears flew in every direction—not because I was sad, but because I was outraged that nobody was ever going to see through the woman’s manipulations.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

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