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.
They can autonomously manipulate and move components within a factory where the space has been previously fully scanned and digitised.
From Barron's
They believed the public was being manipulated by leaders in the media who continued to treat the spirit “delusion” as worthwhile to report as facts.
From Literature
He allegedly “manipulated” her to stop paying rent for her home in the United Kingdom and encouraged her to sell her belongings or put them in storage so she could move to L.A.
From Los Angeles Times
Since it operated without the pouches of chromatic gel that Samaras had previously manipulated, he employed double exposures, colored lights, and paint to alter his images.
However, bulk crystals are challenging to manipulate, and their chemical makeup can vary from one region to another, making consistent results harder to achieve.
From Science Daily
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.
