manipulative
Americanadjective
-
influencing or attempting to influence the behavior or emotions of others for one’s own purposes.
a manipulative boss.
-
of or relating to manipulation of objects or parts of the body; serving to manipulate.
spinal manipulative therapy.
noun
Other Word Forms
- manipulatively adverb
Etymology
Origin of manipulative
First recorded in 1815–20; manipulat(e) ( def. ) + -ive ( def. )
Explanation
A manipulative person uses passive, sneaky strategies to get what they want, such as saying "Aren't you lucky to have all that chocolate!" when what they really want is for you to offer them one. Manipulative comes from the Latin word manus for "hand," and originally the English words that sprang from it like manipulate and manipulation referred to skill in physically handling objects by hand. The psychological sense we now associate with manipulative came much later on, but as anyone who has been successfully manipulated well knows, it often feels like you've been brilliantly manhandled.
Vocabulary lists containing manipulative
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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.
The manipulative Jean, meanwhile, counsels both young women and has cast Mary in the role of her substitute daughter.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
Sentencing the three on Tuesday at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Christopher Hehir called Dale a "thoroughly devious and untruthful and manipulative young woman".
From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026
"They simply did not care and separated the mother and child," Enira Bronitskaya, of Human Constanta, said, calling the process "manipulative."
From Barron's • Jan. 15, 2026
The horrors of the 1988 chapter open the door for a plot development that risks coming across as manipulative.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2026
But the Erudite are as meticulous as they are manipulative, so they wouldn’t leave it up to chance.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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.
