manipulation

American  

[muh-nip-yuh-ley-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

Etymology

Origin of manipulation

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

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

The result was a form of light manipulation that had never previously been achieved at room temperature.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

"I thought con artists and trial lawyers all have skills which are perfectly allowed: misdirection, distraction, persuasion, manipulation," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

In this era of deglobalization, trade imbalances and tariffs, forex manipulation and geopolitical realignment, an impartial analysis of a currency’s real value is more important than ever.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

The track also has to be “substantially human-made,” and it shouldn’t raise concerns about stream or chart manipulation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Though he meant it to be sweet, all I could see was control and manipulation.

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King

The book comments on the manipulations Grossman’s pieces were subjected to and discusses how efforts to find earlier drafts of the publications in Russian archives have been unsuccessful.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Future studies will also use targeted manipulations of brain circuits to better understand the causal relationship between neural pathways and memory function.

From Science Daily ● May 30, 2026

Muddy Waters has accused the company of accounting manipulation partly to benefit its chief executive, claiming that “without these manipulations, CEO Noto would lose most—if not all—of his performance bonus.”

From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 4, 2026

The problems were compliant, pliable; they yielded to my manipulations, forming into solutions, one after the other.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover