manipulación
/manipulaˈθjon/
The English phrase "tampering" is translated into Spanish as manipulación.
tampering refers to the act of making unauthorized changes to something, often to cause damage or commit fraud.
Which one should you use?
manipulación and alteración are both formal translations for the act of tampering.
How do you pronounce it?
/manipulaˈθjon/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the word manipular can be a positive term meaning 'to handle' or 'to operate' a piece of machinery with skill.
- Depending on the region, manipulación can refer specifically to the handling of food, where manipulador de alimentos is a certified professional.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, the word manipulación is frequently used in a psychological context to describe someone who is emotionally controlling or 'gaslighting' others, rather than just physical tampering.
Examples in context
- Se descubrió evidencia de manipulación en el informe policialEvidence of tampering was found in the police report
- Cualquier intervención en el sistema de votación es un delito graveAny tampering with the voting system is a serious crime
- La empresa se toma muy en serio cualquier alteración de sus productosThe company takes any tampering with their products very seriously
- Deja de juguetear con el control remotoStop tampering with the remote control
- No deberías toquetear los archivos del sistemaYou shouldn't tamper with the system files
- Mi sobrino siempre está trasteando con sus juguetesMy nephew is always tampering with his toys
- Hay evidencia de manipulación en los documentos.There is evidence of tampering with the documents.
- La manipulación del paquete es evidente.The tampering with the package is evident.
- Sospechamos de una manipulación de los datos.We suspect data tampering.
- Hubo manipulación en el sistema de seguridad.There was tampering in the security system.
Example conversation
Javier and María are discussing a suspicious package at work.
- Javier¿Viste algo extraño en la caja?Did you see anything strange in the box?
- MaríaSí, parece que hubo manipulación.Yes, it looks like there was tampering.
- JavierDebemos llamar a la seguridad de inmediato.We must call security immediately.
- MaríaTienes razón, Javier, hagámoslo.You're right, Javier, let's do it.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry manipulación, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
