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
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:
"It is terrifying to be confronted over something you didn't do and to realise someone is using your face to manipulate others," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Aghast at the ways of men, he’s dug his own Circe-like fingers into Homer to manipulate the tale into a moralistic “Oppenheimer” prequel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Crucially, the program is not trying to manipulate anyone.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
A better understanding of how gallium changes with temperature could benefit nanotechnology, where researchers manipulate matter at extremely small scales to create new materials with specialized properties.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
Our understanding of genes has allowed us to manipulate organisms with unparalleled dexterity and power.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
She’s showing us exactly how the majority manipulates the text until it gets where it wants to go.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
As Roderigo, whom Iago manipulates like a bored puppeteer idly pulling the strings, Daniel Velez is idiotically gullible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
Spoofing manipulates that system, causing the affected ship to send a fake, or even nonsensical, location -- meaning that ships could appear to be on land in Iran or the Emirates.
From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026
The advertising and promotional material “often distorts, exaggerates, and manipulates scientific evidence and rhetoric to sell stem-cell products, therapies, and ideas,” the paper states.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2025
Someone who manipulates you and the way you feel doesn’t love you.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
As with anyone who’s been manipulated by others, Yuru isn’t sure he wants to cooperate with anyone at the moment.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
A year earlier, suspected Russian hackers remotely manipulated valves on a Norwegian hydroelectric dam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
Unlike other disasters, such as hurricanes, flooding, or extreme heat, a fire can be manipulated in minutes by just one person.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026
Tyra Banks has filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix and the directors of “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model,” claiming that she was manipulated and misrepresented in the series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Everything, that is, except for Skathis, who had manipulated it with his mind.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Who do you think is doing the manipulating?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Whether Foundation can build hands capable of manipulating a weapon designed for a person remains open.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
And one 10-second play from Friday’s Game 2 shows just how the Knicks have counteracted the player known as The Alien—by manipulating space and time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
The researchers believe manipulating the surrounding environment of these materials could provide a new way to improve their capabilities and increase efficiency in future electronics.
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026
The Virginia gentry were psychologically incapable of sharing Hamilton’s affinity with men who made their living manipulating interest rates.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
