manipulative
adjective
ma·nip·u·la·tive
mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlā-tiv 
-lə-
: of, relating to, or performed by manipulation
Osteopathy emphasizes manipulative techniques to correct abnormalities thought to cause disease and inhibit recovery.—
Carol L. Otis et al.
Carol L. Otis et al.
especially
: serving or intended to control or influence others in an artful and often unfair or selfish way
a clever and manipulative child
manipulative behavior
Simpleminded as his critics found his ideas and remarks, cynical and manipulative as he may have been in actuality, he seemed to believe every word he said. —Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
manipulatively
adverb
manipulativeness
noun
Examples of manipulative in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The researchers found millions of features inside Claude, including some representing bias, fraudulent activity, toxic speech, and manipulative behavior.
—Billy Perrigo/san Francisco, TIME, 21 May 2024
Since celestial twins symbolize the sign, Gemini tends to be unfairly stereotyped as two-faced or manipulative.
—Katie Mannion, Peoplemag, 19 May 2024
Pressed on how Gill’s tweets could be any more manipulative or harmful than the countless predictions of stock performance published and aired every day, Clayton only said that Gill should be forthright about the reasons for his bullish outlook.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2024
Additionally, they are prohibited from profiling child users in ways that do not serve their best interests, tracking their locations, and using manipulative design techniques to coerce children to sign away the rights to their personal information.
—Hannah Gaskill, Baltimore Sun, 9 May 2024
Code Words Across the centuries, the conspiracy theory of the manipulative, avaricious Jew has worn many faces, from Judas to Shylock to the Rothschilds.
—Alex Lemonides, New York Times, 9 May 2024
As things go from bad to deadly, the question is, is Cherry a manipulative social climber?
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 2 May 2024
Was Chain celebratory and nostalgic or cynical and manipulative?
—Tejal Rao, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Eventually members shaved their heads and had to be obedient to Dederich despite his brutality and manipulative behavior.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Billy Perrigo/san Francisco, TIME, 21 May 2024
Since celestial twins symbolize the sign, Gemini tends to be unfairly stereotyped as two-faced or manipulative.
—Katie Mannion, Peoplemag, 19 May 2024
Pressed on how Gill’s tweets could be any more manipulative or harmful than the countless predictions of stock performance published and aired every day, Clayton only said that Gill should be forthright about the reasons for his bullish outlook.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2024
Additionally, they are prohibited from profiling child users in ways that do not serve their best interests, tracking their locations, and using manipulative design techniques to coerce children to sign away the rights to their personal information.
—Hannah Gaskill, Baltimore Sun, 9 May 2024
Code Words Across the centuries, the conspiracy theory of the manipulative, avaricious Jew has worn many faces, from Judas to Shylock to the Rothschilds.
—Alex Lemonides, New York Times, 9 May 2024
As things go from bad to deadly, the question is, is Cherry a manipulative social climber?
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 2 May 2024
Was Chain celebratory and nostalgic or cynical and manipulative?
—Tejal Rao, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Eventually members shaved their heads and had to be obedient to Dederich despite his brutality and manipulative behavior.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'manipulative.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near manipulative
Cite this Entry
“Manipulative.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manipulative. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
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