manipulate
verb
ma·nip·u·late
| \ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt
\
\
manipulated;
manipulating
Definition of manipulate
1
: to treat or operate with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner
manipulate a pencil manipulate a machine
2a
: to manage or utilize skillfully
quantify our data and manipulate it statistically— S. L. Payne
3
: to change by artful or unfair means so as to serve one's purpose : doctor
suspected that the police reports were manipulated— Evelyn G. Cruickshanks
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Other Words from manipulate
manipulatable
\ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tə-bəl
\
adjective
\
adjective
manipulation
\ mə-ˌni-pyə-ˈlā-shən
\
noun
\
noun
manipulator
\ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tər
\
noun
\
noun
manipulatory
\ mə-ˈni-pyə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē
\
adjective
\
adjective
Examples of manipulate in a Sentence
The baby is learning to manipulate blocks.
The mechanical arms are manipulated by a computer.
The doctor manipulated my back.
The program was designed to organize and manipulate large amounts of data.
He's always been good at manipulating numbers in his head.
As part of the experiment, students manipulated light and temperature to see how it affected the plants.
She knows how to manipulate her parents to get what she wants.
He felt that he had been manipulated by the people he trusted most.
The editorial was a blatant attempt to manipulate public opinion.
He's accused of trying to manipulate the price of the stock.
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Recent Examples on the Web
DoApp manipulated the screen of the iPhone — and later the camera flash — so that it could be used as a handy light. — Reed Albergotti, oregonlive, "How Apple uses its App Store to copy the best ideas," 6 Sep. 2019 The answer to weirdness in general -- baiting, manipulating, lying, guilting, throwing tantrums -- is to be aggressively unweird. — Carolyn Hax, al, "Carolyn Hax: Is there a sensitive way to offer to be a surrogate?," 4 Sep. 2019 In true Littlefinger style, the Chamberlain is constantly playing different Skeksis against each other, and manipulating Gelflings for his own ends, and holding important information close to his chest until it can be deployed against an enemy. — Christian Holub, EW.com, "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance," 31 Aug. 2019 For the very source of life energies of Earth have become the castrated target of anile bamboozlery from homosapiens' rabid attempts to manipulate the omnipotent Forces of Nature! — Randall Roberts, chicagotribune.com, "Pedro Bell, Chicago-born artist who created Funkadelic’s cosmic album covers, dies at 69," 29 Aug. 2019 That comes from a greater ability to manipulate an SBS. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "How Scattering Light Could Power a Microchip Revolution," 20 Aug. 2019 Nothing has yet stopped online stores’ algorithms from lying to increase sales, nor curbed Facebook’s actual ability to manipulate users’ moods. — Kentaro Toyama, The Conversation, "Bring on the technology bans!," 19 Aug. 2019 Though Nix’s presentation was well received at the time, once Cambridge Analytica was exposed, his speech was widely seen as sinister portrayal of the company’s attempts to manipulate the public. — Olivia Goldhill, Quartz, "A ‘big data’ firm sells Cambridge Analytica’s methods to global politicians, documents show," 14 Aug. 2019 He is described as a scientist who gained the ability to manipulate gravity after a faulty experiment. — Brett Molina, USA TODAY, "New Overwatch hero Sigma has arrived. What to know about abilities, origin and more," 23 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'manipulate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for manipulate
manipulate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of manipulate
: to move or control (something) with your hands or by using a machine
medical
: to move (muscles and bones) with your hands as a form of treatment
: to use or change (numbers, information, etc.) in a skillful way or for a particular purpose
See the full definition for manipulate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
manipulate
verb
ma·nip·u·late
| \ mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt
\
\
manipulated;
manipulating
Kids Definition of manipulate
1
: to operate, use, or move with the hands or by mechanical means
She learned to manipulate the levers of the machine.
2
: to manage skillfully and especially with intent to deceive
The candidates tried to manipulate public opinion.
manipulate
transitive verb
ma·nip·u·late
| \ mə-ˈnip-yə-ˌlāt
\
\
manipulated;
manipulating
Medical Definition of manipulate
1
: to treat or operate with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner
manipulate the fragments of a broken bone into correct position
2a
: to manage or utilize skillfully
b
: to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage