manipulate
verb
Simple meaning
Influence or control shrewdly or deviously.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
muhnipyuhlaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
məˈnɪpjəleɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Influence or control shrewdly or deviously
“He manipulated public opinion in his favor.”
transitive
To influence, manage, direct, control or tamper with something
transitive
To influence or control someone in order to achieve a specific purpose, especially one that is unknown to the one being manipulated and beneficial to the manipulator; to use
Hold something in one's hands and move it
transitive
To move, arrange or operate something using the hands
Maintain influence over (others or oneself) skillfully, usually to one's advantage
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Influence or control shrewdly or deviously
Used this way, manipulate is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“He manipulated public opinion in his favor.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- wangle , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use manipulate
- “He manipulated public opinion in his favor.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
An agent that operates some apparatus or machine.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: influence or control shrewdly or deviously
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