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
- manipulability noun
- manipulatable adjective
- manipulation noun
- manipulative adjective
- manipulatively adverb
- manipulator noun
- manipulatory adjective
- nonmanipulative adjective
- nonmanipulatory adjective
- outmanipulate verb (used with object)
- unmanipulatable adjective
- unmanipulated adjective
- unmanipulative adjective
- unmanipulatory adjective
Etymology
Origin of manipulate
First recorded in 1820–30; back formation from manipulation
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.
Frictionless design has helped usher in technologies that manipulate behavior in ways that aren’t always visible to us.
From Slate • Apr. 4, 2026
“We’re trying to get an accurate representation of someone’s true height without them being able to manipulate it in any way,” said Joe Martinez, MLB’s vice president for on-field strategy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
"The introduction of soft materials that can expand, contract, and alter their shape opens up an entirely new toolbox in the world of optics to manipulate how things look."
From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026
He could manipulate the ball and wriggle out of tight areas.
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
I mean, a time-traveling criminal is usually someone attempting to manipulate history with the full intention of screwing up the future, and there was nothing fluffy about that.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.