From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmanipulativema‧nip‧u‧la‧tive /məˈnɪpjələtɪv $ -leɪ-/ AWL adjective 1 USE A PERSONclever at controlling or deceiving people to get what you want – used to show disapproval She was sly, selfish, and manipulative.2 technicalCONTROL relating to the ability to handle objects in a skilful way Before a child can learn a musical instrument, he or she first needs to acquire the necessary manipulative skills.3 [only before noun] technicalMH relating to the skill of moving bones and joints into the correct position
Examples from the Corpus
manipulative• She was charming and manipulative.• Although largely neglected today, this latter function is unashamedly manipulative.• At the same time one must avoid being manipulative.• In a medical book, the psychopath is cold-blooded, premeditated, uncaring, manipulative.• How could I phrase the question so that I could distinguish between free choice and manipulative coercion?• He's self-centred, manipulative, insensitive; classic signs of a personality problem.• Wary of his manipulative skills, she agreed, on her own terms.• manipulative techniques• manipulative treatment• And Tony Bumble and the staff were very, very good at what they did, very manipulative, very smart. 