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
Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
Ben Smith, semafor.com, 9 Feb. 2026
What’s interesting is the NBA has moved away from some events that either have become stale or manipulated, such as the skills competition giving way at next week’s All-Star Weekend.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2026
Certain brands of that vintage can be manipulated in ways that later models can’t.
—Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News, 5 Feb. 2026
Marcos manipulated the political operating system itself.
—Alejandro Reyes, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2026
An investigation by the IBSF found that Team Canada intentionally manipulated the points at the competition in Lake Placid, New York.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 3 Feb. 2026
There are few, if any, tools available to news consumers that can accurately tell if a piece of content has been created or manipulated by AI.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 1 Feb. 2026
One personal goal should be altruism, just don’t be manipulated.
—Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 1 Feb. 2026
During their investigation, Corona Police discovered that the plane’s transponder — a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response — had been manipulated during the flight.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Mazzola, 43, also allegedly participated in an armed robbery to steal a manipulated shuffling machine.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
Last year, many were convinced American politics would be destabilized by videos manipulated by artificial intelligence, or lulled into a post-truth stupor by AI slop.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 9 Feb. 2026
What’s interesting is the NBA has moved away from some events that either have become stale or manipulated, such as the skills competition giving way at next week’s All-Star Weekend.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2026
Certain brands of that vintage can be manipulated in ways that later models can’t.
—Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News, 5 Feb. 2026
Marcos manipulated the political operating system itself.
—Alejandro Reyes, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2026
An investigation by the IBSF found that Team Canada intentionally manipulated the points at the competition in Lake Placid, New York.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 3 Feb. 2026
There are few, if any, tools available to news consumers that can accurately tell if a piece of content has been created or manipulated by AI.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 1 Feb. 2026
One personal goal should be altruism, just don’t be manipulated.
—Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 1 Feb. 2026
During their investigation, Corona Police discovered that the plane’s transponder — a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response — had been manipulated during the flight.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manipulated
Adjective
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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
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The ring allegedly exploited a large-scale humanitarian effort used to ship aid and commercial goods into the shattered enclave.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
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Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet venture is increasingly being seen as critical infrastructure that can be targeted or exploited in geopolitical conflicts.—
J.D. Capelouto,
semafor.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The court filings have managed to make a public spectacle out of the private communications of Taylor Swift, Matt Damon, Sony Motion Picture Group CEO Tom Rothman, WME agent Warren Zavala — among others.—
Rebecca Keegan,
NBC news,
13 Feb. 2026
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To date, astronomers have managed to detect about 300 such mergers via their associated crescendos of gravitational waves.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The deal was negotiated by Jarowey and SVP of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi on behalf of Vertical and by Anant Tamirisa for AGC International, which is handling worldwide sales for the film.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
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The deal was negotiated by Greenwich’s Jasper Basch with Cinetic’s Zach Magid representing the filmmakers.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
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And don’t be deceived by Saturday’s sunny skies as the high will be 32 with wind chills as low as 9 degrees.—
Amanda McCoy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Challengers should give Marylanders the option to choose a new direction and remove the need to confront the painful reality that they were deceived.—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Wheeled robots handled industrial workflows such as grocery picking, container movement, and packing.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
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The investigation into Bezalel Zini was handled by Israeli police instead of the Shin Bet because of the relationship between the two men.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Two days after Jamarrien Monroe and his 5-year-old cousin were killed, police arrested Tyreion Nixon-Clark in connection with an unrelated homicide motivated by robbery in which the suspect arranged a meeting that the victim thought was to be a rifle sale, authorities said.—
Emerson Clarridge
Updated February 6,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Feb. 2026
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Kimani parked beside a clearing where chairs had been arranged around a fire.—
Flora Stubbs,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Manipulated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manipulated. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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