[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

manipulation \manip`ula"tion\, n. cf. f. manipulation.
   1. the act or process of manipulating, or the state of being
      manipulated; the act of handling work by hand; use of the
      hands, in an artistic or skillful manner, in science or
      art.
      1913 webster

            manipulation is to the chemist like the external
            senses to the mind. --whewell.
      1913 webster

   2. the use of the hands in mesmeric operations.
      1913 webster

   3. artful management; as, the manipulation of political
      bodies; sometimes, a management or treatment for purposes
      of deception or fraud.
      1913 webster

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

manipulation
     n 1: exerting shrewd or devious influence especially for one's
          own advantage; "his manipulation of his friends was
          scandalous" syn: use
     2: the action of touching with the hands or the skillful use of
        the hands syn: handling
see also:
use handling 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

133 moby thesaurus words for "manipulation":
   accounting, action, agency, anal intercourse, analysis, artifice,
   authority, autoeroticism, automatic electronic navigation,
   bear raid, behind-the-scenes influence, bestiality, braking,
   buggery, bull raid, cabal, caressing, collusion, command,
   complicity, complot, computation, conduct, confederacy, connivance,
   conspiracy, contrivance, contriving, control, coordination, corner,
   corner in, counterplot, covin, cunnilingus, deep-laid plot,
   devices, direction, driving, employment, engineering, execution,
   exercise, expedients, exploitation, fact distribution, feeling,
   fellatio, fellation, finagling, finesse, fingering, forecasts,
   frame-up, friction, frottage, functioning, game, governance,
   government, guidance, hand job, handling, husbandry, influence,
   inspection, intrigue, irrumation, lead, leading, little game,
   machination, management, managery, managing, maneuvering,
   maneuvers, masturbation, monopoly, nonlinear calibrations,
   occupation, onanism, operancy, operation, oral-genital stimulation,
   ordering, output measurement, palpation, pederasty, performance,
   performing, petting, pilotage, plot, plotting, political influence,
   practice, pressure, processing, raid, record keeping, regulation,
   responsibility, rigging, rubbing, running, scheme, schemery,
   scheming, self-abuse, sodomy, steerage, steering, stratagem,
   stroking, supersonic flow detection, tactical maneuvers, tactics,
   the conn, the helm, the wheel, touching, trick, underplot, using,
   utilization, wash sale, washing, web of intrigue, wire-pulling,
   work, working, workings

Manipulation >> M Words
Manipulation, definition of term: Manipulation
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