as in engineered
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1
as in exploited
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
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2
as in managed
to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently
spin doctors manipulating the data to make it seem more favorable to their preferred candidates
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in negotiated
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
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Recent Examples of manipulated
Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Apr. 2026
Mazzola, 43, also allegedly participated in an armed robbery to steal a manipulated shuffling machine.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 4 May 2026
And getting back to the Jewish donors who supposedly manipulated Ferguson’s efforts to block mid-cycle congressional districting.
—Howard Libit, Baltimore Sun, 3 May 2026
But Habermas recognized that this liberal-democratic ideal was never fully realized—not in the 18th century, when the public sphere was open only to men of property, and not in the 20th, when public opinion had become passive and inert, an object to be manipulated by propaganda.
—Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 3 May 2026
The answer to pharmaceutical and wellness overclaiming is not a counter-narrative that frames women who seek hormonal support as manipulated or anti-feminist.
—Torie Bosch, STAT, 2 May 2026
Staffers maintain that recruits have actually manipulated highlights for years, before AI, and there are tells, such as watching to see if the referees or people in the stands are sped up.
—Antonio Morales, New York Times, 1 May 2026
In recent years, numerous celebrities have been used in deepfakes — videos featuring footage manipulated by artificial intelligence that replaces existing images and audio of a person with the likeness of someone else.
—Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 1 May 2026
To elevate Rocha Moya in the 2021 election, the indictment alleges, says the Chapitos manipulated ballots and kidnapped and intimidated his opponents.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Switches have been around since the 1980s, when Jorge Leon, a Venezuelan gun repairman, noticed that the trigger mechanism in Glock guns could be manipulated.
—Sasha Allen, Hartford Courant, 29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
What emerged was a startling portrait of manipulated devotion that culminated in Jeffs' 2006 arrest by the FBI.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Apr. 2026
Mazzola, 43, also allegedly participated in an armed robbery to steal a manipulated shuffling machine.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
Gas prices can be manipulated by war, the market or the discretion of how much oil companies want to refine.
—Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 4 May 2026
And getting back to the Jewish donors who supposedly manipulated Ferguson’s efforts to block mid-cycle congressional districting.
—Howard Libit, Baltimore Sun, 3 May 2026
But Habermas recognized that this liberal-democratic ideal was never fully realized—not in the 18th century, when the public sphere was open only to men of property, and not in the 20th, when public opinion had become passive and inert, an object to be manipulated by propaganda.
—Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 3 May 2026
The answer to pharmaceutical and wellness overclaiming is not a counter-narrative that frames women who seek hormonal support as manipulated or anti-feminist.
—Torie Bosch, STAT, 2 May 2026
Staffers maintain that recruits have actually manipulated highlights for years, before AI, and there are tells, such as watching to see if the referees or people in the stands are sped up.
—Antonio Morales, New York Times, 1 May 2026
In recent years, numerous celebrities have been used in deepfakes — videos featuring footage manipulated by artificial intelligence that replaces existing images and audio of a person with the likeness of someone else.
—Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 1 May 2026
To elevate Rocha Moya in the 2021 election, the indictment alleges, says the Chapitos manipulated ballots and kidnapped and intimidated his opponents.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Switches have been around since the 1980s, when Jorge Leon, a Venezuelan gun repairman, noticed that the trigger mechanism in Glock guns could be manipulated.
—Sasha Allen, Hartford Courant, 29 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manipulated
Adjective
-
Without much public debate or planning, these semi-engineered levees took on a critical and unintended role.—
Farshid Vahedifard,
The Conversation,
29 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
These types of vulnerabilities can be exploited through normal user behavior, such as browsing to a web page.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
7 May 2026
-
Already at this early stage, the producer must think about all the markets in which the film, its brand, and its characters can be exploited and not just about the theaters where it will be screened.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
5 May 2026
Verb
-
Cleveland had the lead and the ball in the final 20 seconds of overtime and still managed to lose 112-110.—
Dan Santaromita,
New York Times,
2 May 2026
-
Despite missiles flying overhead — and occasionally falling on Syrian territory — Syria managed to stay on the sidelines and positioned itself as an alternative transport route for oil exports that could no longer be sent through the strait.—
Abby Sewell,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
These are trade-offs that can be negotiated, at both the local and national levels, to benefit our communities.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
-
His presence caused periodic traffic jams as Washington police closed lanes and negotiated with him.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
The company in 2020 pleaded guilty to distributing adulterated ice-cream products and agreed to pay a fine over the outbreak.—
Dylan Tokar,
WSJ,
2 Feb. 2023
-
And while most of those overdoses involved the illicit synthetic opioid fentanyl, experts say that an adulterated and contaminated drug supply is also leading to deaths.—
Nadia Kounang,
CNN,
17 Mar. 2022
Verb
-
The lawsuit alleged that Capital One deceived customers about interest rates related to some of its savings account options, according to court filings on the settlement website.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
3 May 2026
-
But some were also deceived or coerced.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That’s similar to how the Fire-Rescue Department handled a highly critical 2023 audit of how the city coordinates brush management on city property, including in parks, wildlands and canyons.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
-
In Islamic thought, wealth is understood as a trust from God, to be handled with care and never mistaken for proof of divine endorsement.—
Boutayna Chokrane,
Pitchfork,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators vice president and art teacher Rae LeGrone stood with a clipboard, alongside Erin DeMund, a teacher at Oaklawn Language Academy who had arranged a similar, though smaller, demonstration a week earlier in Charlotte.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
2 May 2026
-
Access to private tours of the museums can be arranged, as well as private transportation around the islands.—
Lale Arikoglu,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Manipulated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manipulated. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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