Many think that manipulation is simply someone treating another person a specific way in order to get the outcome that they want from that person. However, there are many different manipulation tactics. While it largely involves emotions, it can also include withholding, isolation and altering expectations. That’s why these 75 manipulation quotes are helpful to determine what this toxic behavior can look like.
Withholding affection from your partner as punishment in order for that partner to act a certain way is definitely manipulation, but a politician withholding information in order to make themselves seem more favorable is also manipulation. Isolation is another big red flag. Manipulators often try to isolate their partners from their closest friends and family members in order to control exactly what they’re thinking and feeling. Another form of this type of influence is for the manipulator to change the expectations at the last minute, always dangling something in front of the other person for them to keep striving toward.
These tactics are sometimes carried out so subtly that they’re hard to recognize, especially when you’re the one in the situation. These 75 quotes on manipulation may help you recognize this behavior, and know you’re not alone.
Related: 75 Quotes About Gaslighting To Help You Identify and Break Away From This Toxic Behavior by Manipulators
75 Manipulation Quotes
1. “There’s nothing so dangerous for manipulators as people who choose to think for themselves.” — Meg Greenfield
2. “Emotional abuse is designed to undermine another’s sense of self. It is deliberate humiliation, with the intent to seize control of how others feel about themselves.” — Lorraine Nilon
3. “Narcissists withhold affection to punish you. Withhold attention to get revenge. And withhold an emotional empathetic response to make you feel insecure.” — Alice Little
4. “Emotional blackmail is a powerful form of manipulation. It leaves you in a FOG when there is a haze of Fear, Obligation, and Guilt.” — Carey West
5. “You can rule ignorance; you can manipulate the illiterate; you can do whatever you want when a people are uneducated, so that goes in line with corrupt business and corrupt politics.” — will.i.am.
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6. “The word deepfake has become a generic noun for the use of machine—learning algorithms and facial—mapping technology to digitally manipulate people’s voices, bodies and faces. And the technology is increasingly so realistic that the deepfakes are almost impossible to detect.” — Ben Sasse
7. “A ‘Svengali’ is more than just someone who is manipulative. It’s somebody who makes you think you need him in order to accomplish anything.” — Ann Beattie
8. “When it comes to controlling human beings there is no better instrument than lies. Because, you see, humans live by beliefs. And beliefs can be manipulated. The power to manipulate beliefs is the only thing that counts.” — Michael Ende
9. “You are not broken and in need of fixing. You are wounded and in need of healing.” — Danu Morrigan
10. “Let us not get scooped up by gaslighting manipulators stealing our emotions and taking possession of our inner child to carry out their dark agenda. Let the light of our intuition guide us subtly and wisely along the path of trust and suspicion.” — Erik Pevernagie
Related: 8 Genius Comebacks for Dealing With a Manipulator, According to Psychologists
11. “The world is full of people with different characters and temperaments. We all have a dark side, a tendency to manipulate, and aggressive desires. The most dangerous types are those who repress their desires or deny the existence of them, often acting them out in the most underhanded ways.” — Robert Greene
12. “Dealing with manipulation is all about reading between the lines and recognizing the lies for what they are.” — Unknown
13. “If you don’t give education to people, it is easy to manipulate them.” — Pele
14. “The more you value yourself, the healthier your boundaries are.” — Lorraine Nilon
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15. “It’s so easy to manipulate an audience, but it’s nearly always clear that you are being manipulated. I think even people that are not critically attuned are aware of cynical manipulation in film.” — John Boorman
16. “Self—centered leaders manipulate when they move people for personal benefit. Mature leaders motivate by moving people for mutual benefit.” — John C. Maxwell
17. “Toxic people be like, ‘How dare you set boundaries and not allow me to control and manipulate you?’” — Wingheart
18. “One should be able to control and manipulate experiences with an informed and intelligent mind.” — Sylvia Plath
19. “Manipulative people are those who wish to be loved on their own terms.” — David S. Viscott
20. “I think if you’re impregnated with good literature, with good culture, you’re much more difficult to manipulate, and you’re much more aware of the dangers that powers represent.” — Mario Vargas Llosa
21. “I’m not crazy, I was abused. I’m not shy, I’m protecting myself. I’m not bitter, I’m speaking the truth.” — Rene Smith
22. “The key thing about us is that we all belong to multiple tribes. Even if we are predisposed into dividing the world into ‘us’ and ‘them’, it’s incredibly easy to manipulate us as to who is an ‘us’ and who is a ‘them’ at any given moment.” — Robert Sapolsky
23. “An emotionally abusive relationship, in very simplistic terms, is much like standing up in a too-hot bath and sinking back in so as not to feel so dizzy.” — Jackie Haz
24. “The eyes of a poet discover in each person a unique and irreplaceable humanity. While arrogant intellect seeks to control and manipulate the world, the poetic spirit bows with reverence before its mysteries.” — Daisaku Ikeda
25. “Stating your feelings is always important,” she clarifies. “The manipulator will try to invalidate how you feel, so it’s good to be firm and do not allow your emotions to be dictated. You are in charge of how you respond.” — Dr. Nadia Teymoorian
26. “If you can manipulate news, a judge can manipulate the law. A smart lawyer can keep a killer out of jail, a smart accountant can keep a thief from paying taxes, a smart reporter could ruin your reputation — unfairly.” — Mario Cuomo
27. “Realize that narcissists have an addiction disorder. They are strongly addicted to feeling significant. Like any addict they will do whatever it takes to get this feeling often.” — Shannon L. Alder
28. “Psychopaths view any social exchange as a ‘feeding opportunity’, a contest or a test of wills in which there can be only one winner. Their motives are to manipulate and take, ruthlessly and without remorse.” — Robert D. Hare
29. “Manipulative people do not consider the other person’s point of view; they will take it at the expense of others.” — Richard Malthouse
30. “Often enough the manipulator approaches, stimulates, or even creates a powerful wish or a strong desire in the target’s mind.” — Sapir Handelman
Related: 35 Common Gaslighting Phrases in Relationships and How To Respond, According to Therapists
31. “If you think of data as kind of an x-ray of our soul, it’s this window into our minds that the company has possessed. It’s a very, very powerful x—ray for them to hold because the more that you understand about somebody, the easier it is to manipulate them.” — Franklin Foer
32. “In psychology and behavioral economics, people have shown that if you just describe options in a certain way, or make some features of a situation salient, you can get people to do and even see what you want. You don’t have to be a Jedi to manipulate someone’s attention.” — Cass Sunstein
33. “The true manipulator never has a reputation for manipulating.” — Martin Amis
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34. “A new understanding of power is replacing our old understanding of power as the ability to manipulate and control. The old understanding of power has become counterproductive to our evolution. What used to be good medicine has become poisonous. Pursuit of the ability to manipulate and control now produces only violence and destruction.” — Gary Zukav
35. “Changed behavior is the only apology, otherwise, it’s just manipulation.” — Maranda Pleasant
36. “Just because something isn’t a lie does not mean that it isn’t deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction.” — Criss Jami
37. “But that’s the thing about narcissists. They can try to fool you, with all their heart, but in the end, they’re just fooling themselves.” — Ellie Fox
38. “If you are an approval addict, your behavior is as easy to control as that of any other junkie. All a manipulator need do is a simple two-step process: Give you what you crave, and then threaten to take it away. Every drug dealer in the world plays this game.” — Harriet B. Braiker
39. “When we allow another to alter our thinking, it can take a long time to return to our previous reality. That’s the awesome power of manipulation.” — Ryan James
40. “If you feel confused because someone tells you that they love you, but they don’t act like they do, judge them by their actions alone. You will have your answer.” — Adelyn Birch
Related: The 10 Earliest Signs of Emotional Manipulation To Look Out For, According to Psychologists
41. “Remember that any time you’re filled with resentment, you’re turning the controls of your emotional life over to others to manipulate.” — Wayne Dyer
42. “Manipulation is a contagious disease, much more dangerous than the flu because it can endure for a lifetime.” — Dorothy McCoy
43. “Some people will label you as vindictive, unforgiving or even evil for not allowing them to hurt you, yet again.” — Wayne Gerard Trotman
44. “Some people pretend to be the beach, but they are actually quicksand.” — Steve Maraboli
45. “If they can no longer score on you, then they can no longer manipulate you.” — Dorothy McCoy
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46. “Manipulators count on strong emotions—such as guilt, fear, love, and shame—to prevent us from thinking clearly and seeing what they’re up to. That’s exactly how they get away with it.” — Adelyn Birch
47. “In any healthy relationship, you should feel heard and respected, not confused and invalidated.” — Unknown
48. “When they can no longer control or manipulate you, they smear you.” — Steve Maraboli
49. “When ambition gets out of hand we are vulnerable to manipulation by others.” — Keith Campbell
50. “If you hate being yelled at, you have the right to insist that yelling not be a part of your disagreements. Maybe some other woman wouldn’t mind the loud voice, but you do. If that makes you sensitive, so be it.” — Robin Stern
51. “No love is conditional. If love is conditional, it’s emotional manipulation masquerading as love.” — Donald Miller
52. “There’s only two types of people who discourage others from learning manipulation. Naïve people, and manipulators.” — Lucio Buffalmano
53. “A narcissist paints a picture of themselves as being the victim or innocent in all aspects. They will be offended by the truth.” — Karla Grimes
54. “Toxic people make you think you’re holding a grudge when you’re really holding a boundary.” — Mel Robins
55. “No matter what you have been through, you’re still here. You may have been challenged, hurt, betrayed, beaten, and discouraged, but nothing has defeated you. You are still here! You are not a victim, you are a victor. You have a history of victory.” — Steve Maraboli
Related: 10 Classic Mind Games Narcissists Play in a Relationship, According to Psychologists
56. “Things come apart so easily when they have been held together with lies.” — Dorothy Allison
57. “Manipulation is the dark side of charisma.” — Max Weber
58. “Abuse is the silent killer. It can take many forms, but the goal is always the same: to gain power and control over another person.” — Leslie Morgan Steiner
59. “When you know what a man wants you know who he is, and how to move him.” — George R.R. Martin
60. “Because of our built-in insecurity, we are very sensitive when it is manipulated.” — Rick Tobin
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61. “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” — Abraham Lincoln
62. “The emotional are always the most susceptible to manipulation.” — Pamela Meyer
63. “If you alter your behavior because you are frightened of how your partner will react, you are being abused.” — Sandra Horley
64. “When you notice someone does something toxic the first time, don’t wait for the second time before you address it.” — Shahida Arabi
65. “When you’re surrounded by a world of constant lies, manipulation, and deceit, that dark energy is bound to seep into you eventually.” — Jeffrey Bower-Chapman
Related: 11 Subtle Signs of Gaslighting To Look For in Your Relationship
66. “The success of the manipulation depends on the level of conviction and force of the denial.” — Tess Binder
67. “When someone tells you that there is no agenda, you can be certain there is nothing but an agenda.” — Craig D. Lounsbrough
68. “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
69. “Manipulative people do not consider the other person’s point of view; they will take it at the expense of others.” — Richard Malthouse
70. “Women work very hard to prevent or stop their sons from being manipulated by their women, like their sons’ fathers were or are being manipulated by their sons’ mothers.” — Mokokoma Mokhonoana
71. “A skilled manipulator can make you question your own reality.” — Gaslight, directed by George Cukor
72. “Behind every angry mob there is a puppeteer pulling the strings.” — Marty Rubin
73. “Narcissists, however, are similar to a spider that has built a web for its prey to bring itself.” — Mwanandeke Kindembo
74. “Nothing manipulates people more than the desire to please.” — Zoe Durlock
75. “Don’t become manipulated by the illusion of who you think you are, or who you think you should be.” — Steven Redhead
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