manipulate
part of speech
verb (manipulate, manipulates, manipulated, manipulating)
meaning for a pupil
1) To control or influence someone in a clever, unfair or dishonest way, to get what you want. tree →
2) To handle, move or work something skilfully with your hands: «manipulate the controls». tree →
3) To change information, numbers or pictures, sometimes to trick people: «manipulate a photo». tree →
4) (science, medicine) To move or press a body part to treat it. tree →
sense in the lessons
In personal safety lessons, manipulating means tricking someone into doing what you want – a sign of an unhealthy friendship or of online grooming. In maths, you «manipulate» numbers or equations (rearrange them). In computing and art, people manipulate images. In media lessons, children learn that photos and statistics can be manipulated to mislead. Phrases: «manipulate someone into», «manipulate data», «manipulate objects».
examples
- He tried to manipulate his sister into doing his chores. tree →
- A real friend does not manipulate you with guilt. tree →
- The robot arm can manipulate tiny objects. tree →
- In maths we manipulated the equation to find x. tree →
- That photo has been manipulated to make the wave look bigger. tree →
- Toddlers learn to manipulate blocks and shapes. tree →
- Advertisers sometimes try to manipulate how we feel. tree →
- If someone online tries to manipulate you, tell a trusted adult. tree →
note
Regular verb: manipulated, manipulating. Nouns: manipulation, manipulator; adjective: manipulative (usually bad: a manipulative person). The «control people» sense is negative; the «handle skilfully» sense is neutral. In maths, manipulating an equation keeps it true as long as you do the same to both sides.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «manipulate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.