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.

---

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

In the book, most homes have parlor walls with huge video screens that broadcast streams of babbling commentary for both entertainment and manipulation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

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

Third, Galileo had the example of Gilbert, who had used the careful manipulation of experimental apparatus to establish new and unsuspected truths.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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

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

In addition to exploring dietary and microbiome manipulations that could help with liver cancer, the team is curious to see if other conditions could be treated by targeting BAAT.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2025

Then, after all your manipulations are complete, you take the limit: you extrapolate and figure out where the expression is headed.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife