1
as in to exploit
to control or take advantage of by artful, unfair, or insidious means
the con man would slyly manipulate the emotions of his marks in order to win their sympathy and trust
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to manage
to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently
spin doctors manipulating the data to make it seem more favorable to their preferred candidates
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to negotiate
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care
manipulated the schedule of presidential primaries so that the choice of the party elders would win the nomination
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of manipulate
However, confirming that in humans is more challenging, given that human brain cells that can be manipulated to test the findings are of the deceased.
—
Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
And most participants didn’t recognize that they were being manipulated.
—Brian Jay Tang, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2026
This can involve pretending to be an IT customer support and manipulating an employee at a target company into handing over internal access.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 24 Apr. 2026
Kyle Holder's entire life savings were stolen from her by sophisticated scammers who used artificial intelligence to perfectly manipulate her.
—Anna Schecter, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for manipulate
Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
And most participants didn’t recognize that they were being manipulated.
—Brian Jay Tang, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2026
This can involve pretending to be an IT customer support and manipulating an employee at a target company into handing over internal access.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 24 Apr. 2026
Kyle Holder's entire life savings were stolen from her by sophisticated scammers who used artificial intelligence to perfectly manipulate her.
—Anna Schecter, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for manipulate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manipulate
Verb
-
The Kremlin is also exploiting frictions between the United States and Europe over the latter’s reservations about the Iran war.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
-
China is currently exploiting its salt lakes to source potassium and lithium.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The casting has always managed to feel diverse, but in a guileless, incidental way, giving the appearance of multicultural inclusion without espousing any explicitly progressive viewpoints.—
Hua Hsu,
New Yorker,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The Bruins managed to keep it tight through the end of the first, with the Sabres taking that 1-0 lead into the first intermission.—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Despite attempts to negotiate the Strait of Hormuz’s reopening during an ongoing ceasefire, the narrow waterway remains shut to virtually all ship traffic.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Olthof Homes successfully challenged a $100,000 penalty levied by the town in the Indiana Court of Appeals, so a lower fine was negotiated between the two parties.—
Amy Lavalley,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This intent to deceive constituents has been obvious since February.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Rashid deceived Padikkal with a perfect googly while Kohli dragged jason Holder’s slower ball onto his stumps.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The recruitment has been part of that — Leipzig bought well and sold the players who needed to leave — but Werner has handled a young squad particularly well, minimising the volatility that was such a feature of their football last season.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The lieutenant who handled his Skelly conference wrote that Webster accepted full responsibility for his actions and apologized.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Despite the setbacks, Rivera and Nuhfer continued to communicate with Sessions and arranged for the congressman to travel to Caracas to meet with Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, at a military compound near the presidential palace on April 2, 2018.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Ride-share services are readily available, golf carts can be arranged in select areas and most stations are located in or just steps from vibrant downtown districts.—
Karon Warren,
AJC.com,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The whistleblower complaint was forwarded to ARTnews in the form of emails from July 2025 and December 2025, both of which were addressed to, among others, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and United States Attorney for the Southern District of California Adam Gordon.—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The king later delivered a rare address to a joint session of Congress, marking the second time a British monarch has ever addressed Congress.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
So, the ribosome provides a very stringent test of whether engineering out an amino acid can be tolerated by cells.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Allen, described in court filings as a California teacher and engineer with no prior criminal history, had initially sought release pending trial.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Manipulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manipulate. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
