Psychological Manipulation Terms

noun a method of changing someone's beliefs or attitudes through intense manipulation or persuasion

• The cult leader used various psychological techniques to brainwash his followers.
• I can't believe she fell for that scam, they really brainwashed her.
• Don't listen to him, he's just trying to brainwash you.
• The constant negative news coverage seemed to brainwash the public into believing the worst.

noun a swindle or cheat

verb to swindle or deceive

• The committee was accused of trying to chouse the public out of their rightful benefits.
• I can't believe he tried to chouse his way out of paying for dinner.
• She's always trying to chouse her way into getting free stuff.
• The tricky salesman managed to chouse his customers into buying unnecessary upgrades.

noun a man who engages in confidence tricks

• The authorities were able to track down the notorious con man and bring him to justice.
• I heard that Joe is a real con man, always trying to scam people out of their money.
• Watch out for that con man, he's been known to pull some shady deals.
• She's a con man when it comes to getting what she wants, always manipulating situations in her favor.

noun excessive admiration for a particular person or thing

• The government is taking measures to combat the spread of cultism in universities.
• I heard there's a lot of cultism going on in that new club.
• Cultism is so creepy, I don't want anything to do with it.
• The cultism of celebrity worship is becoming more prevalent in society.

adjective describing a quality of being misleading or giving a false impression

• The company was accused of engaging in deceptive marketing practices.
• Don't trust him, he's known for being deceptive.
• She's so deceptive, I never know when she's telling the truth.
• The painting's use of light and shadow creates a deceptive sense of depth.

noun a person or thing that is forced upon someone

preposition used to indicate that something is being imposed or thrust upon someone

• The government should not force upon its citizens any restrictions without proper justification.
• Don't let anyone force upon you something you're not comfortable with.
• I can't believe they're trying to force upon us this new dress code.
• She felt like the weight of the world was being forced upon her shoulders.

noun a blustering, domineering person; a bully

verb to bully or torment in an aggressive way

• Hector was a well-respected leader in the community.
• I heard Hector is throwing a party next weekend.
• Hector is always the life of the party.
• His boss constantly hectors him about meeting deadlines.

verb to suggest or hint in an indirect or subtle manner

• He did not directly accuse her, but he did insinuate that she may have been involved.
• I didn't want to come right out and say it, but I had to insinuate that he was lying.
• She was trying to insinuate that she was the one who came up with the idea, but we all knew the truth.
• The dark clouds insinuate that a storm is approaching.

noun the act of directing someone away from the correct path or direction

• The magician used misdirection to deceive the audience.
• She tried to use misdirection to avoid answering the question.
• The con artist pulled off the scam with some clever misdirection.
• His misdirection of blame onto others only caused more problems.

verb to intimidate, manipulate, or deceive someone psychologically in order to gain an advantage

• The athlete tried to psych out his opponent by maintaining a calm and confident demeanor.
• I think she's trying to psych us out with all these mind games.
• Don't let them psych you out, just focus on your own game.
• The loud noises from the construction site were starting to psych me out.

adjective having the characteristics of a snake; resembling a snake in form or movement

• The snaky path through the forest was difficult to navigate.
• Watch out for the snaky road ahead, it's full of twists and turns.
• That guy has a snaky personality, you can't trust him.
• Her words took on a snaky tone as she tried to manipulate the situation.

noun a word used to identify any of a class of people, places, or things

verb a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence

adjective a word naming an attribute of a noun, such as sweet, red, or technical

adverb a word or phrase that modifies or qualifies an adjective, verb, or other adverb or a word group, expressing a relation of place, time, circumstance, manner, cause, degree, etc.

pronoun a word that can function by itself as a noun phrase and that refers either to the participants in the discourse or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse

conjunction a word used to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate words in the same clause

article a word that is used with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun

• It is not advisable to treat someone mean in order to keep them keen in a professional setting.
• You shouldn't act mean towards someone just to make them more interested in you.
• Playing hard to get by being mean doesn't always work to keep someone interested.
• The old saying 'treat them mean, keep them keen' may not always lead to a successful relationship.

noun a person who belittles or disparages others

• The belittler constantly undermines the achievements of his colleagues.
• She's such a belittler, always making fun of everyone around her.
• I can't stand that guy, he's such a belittler.
• The dark clouds acted as a belittler, overshadowing the beauty of the sunset.

noun a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

verb a word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence

conjunction a word that connects words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence

article a word that specifies a noun as definite or indefinite

• It is not advisable to engage in such behavior, as two can play at that game.
• Don't try to outsmart me, two can play at that game.
• You think you're clever, huh? Well, two can play at that game.
• She thought she could manipulate the situation, but little did she know, two can play at that game.

noun a form of psychological warfare that involves the use of propaganda, disinformation, and other tactics to influence the attitudes and behavior of a target audience

• The military unit specializes in conducting psyops to influence enemy behavior.
• The government is using psyops to manipulate public opinion.
• I heard they're running psyops to mess with their heads.
• Her persuasive skills are like psyops, subtly influencing those around her.

noun an act or instance of deceiving

• The company was involved in a scheme of dupery to manipulate their financial statements.
• I can't believe she fell for his dupery and gave him all her money.
• That guy is a master of dupery, always tricking people into doing things for him.
• Her smile was a mask of dupery, hiding her true intentions.

noun a form of psychological manipulation or mind game

• The athlete's exceptional head game enabled him to outsmart his opponents on the field.
• She's got a strong head game when it comes to solving puzzles.
• His head game is on point when it comes to picking up girls at the bar.
• Having a strong head game is crucial in navigating through complex situations in life.

noun Purpose is a noun that refers to the reason or intention behind an action

adverb Accidentally modifies the verb on purpose, indicating that the action was done unintentionally

preposition On is a preposition that shows the relationship between accidentally and purpose, indicating the manner in which the action was done

• She claimed that she dropped the vase accidentally on purpose, but no one believed her.
• He always seems to bump into his crush accidentally on purpose.
• I think she spilled her drink accidentally on purpose to get his attention.
• The politician seemed to insult his opponent accidentally on purpose during the debate.

noun a type of light that is used as a source of illumination in gas lamps

verb to manipulate someone psychologically in order to make them doubt their own sanity

• The suspect attempted to gaslight the police during questioning.
• She's always trying to gaslight me into thinking I'm wrong.
• Don't let him gaslight you like that.
• His constant lies began to gaslight her sense of reality.