Manipulation

An attempt to influence an actor through the use of techniques of suggestion, but without the individual being made conscious of this scheming and manœuvring – a method of persuasion, usually brought to bear with the intention of misleading the subject of the manipulation into believing that the decision elicited is a product of the subject’s own rational deliberation;

in experimental science, the skillful handling or arranging of objects, circumstances, or people, etc., for a particular purpose, that is, to test a causal hypothesis;

more generally: to control, deal with, manage, or conduct something – either abstract or material – adeptly, competently, or well.

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