Psychological Manipulation Terminology

noun deceitful cunning; duplicity

• The politician used his guile to manipulate the situation in his favor.
• She relied on her guile to outsmart her opponents in the game.
• He's got some serious guile to pull off that kind of prank.
• The fox's reputation for guile is well-deserved in the animal kingdom.

noun the act of causing someone to be confused or bewildered

• The scientist's findings led to a great deal of mystification among his colleagues.
• I'm still in a state of mystification after watching that magic trick.
• I was totally mystified by the ending of that movie.
• The artist's abstract painting left viewers in a state of mystification as they tried to decipher its meaning.