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

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

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

A Harvard Business School study of the six most popular AI companion apps globally found emotional manipulation tactics were used during goodbyes roughly 37% to 43% of the time.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

“Experts warn that prediction markets are prone to encourage market manipulation and insider trading; and early research indicates that profits are highly concentrated in a small fraction of users, while the majority lose money.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

In the technosphere of the Andes, Lechtman explained, “people solved basic engineering problems through the manipulation of fibers,” not by creating and joining hard wooden or metal objects.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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

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

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 4, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2025

But this illustration gives little hint of the true complexity of the chemical world of the hydrocarbons, or of the manipulations by which the organic chemist creates his infinitely varied materials.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson