micromanipulation

English

Etymology

From micro- +‎ manipulation.

Noun

micromanipulation (countable and uncountable, plural micromanipulations)

1. The manipulation of objects too small to be seen with the unaided eye.
   • 2012, A. Kuliev, Yury Verlinsky, Preimplantation Genetics, page 274:

     Micromanipulations are performed in a Petri dish chamber.

   • 2012 December 6, Karl Otto Greulich, Micromanipulation by Light in Biology and Medicine: The Laser Microbeam and Optical Tweezers, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 4:

     From then on complete micromanipulation by light was possible with one single piece of equipment. The last decade of this millenium^[sic] is now witnessing a dramatic expansion of the field.

   • 2019, Zsolt Peter Nagy, Alex C. Varghese, Ashok Agarwal, In Vitro Fertilization, page 450:

     The first studies on combined micromanipulation of oocytes and embryos appeared around 100 years later.

   • 2019, Nicola Pio Belfiore, Micromanipulation, page 141:

     Moreover, some examples of ex vivo micromanipulation in the physiological environment are reported in the literature—for example, the micro-scale compression of hydrogel microcapsules [15] or the micromanipulation of a micro blood vessel and a cyanobacteria cell [16].

2. A very small adjustment; a tweak.
   • 1996, Charles A. Perrone, Seven Faces: Brazilian Poetry Since Modernism, page 109:

     Links with concretism are evident in the geometry of the song and in the micromanipulations of words, splits, and pairings, which multiply their suggestions.

   • 2014, John Carvalho, The Crisis of Our Time:

     Finally, I articulated my plan. I would make silly minor adjustments—removing an extra space in between sentences, abbreviating the journal titles, abbreviating a name where it was actually spelled out, rewording something ever so slightly—rather than try to rewrite the paper, which at that point was indeed impossible. […] They barely noticed the micromanipulations.

   • 2021, Rachel Fensham, Theory for Theatre Studies: Movement:

     I will approach this topic by adopting a global history approach which examines the connectivity and diversity of theatre histories around the world, wuch as between the ancient Greek orchestra and Noh theatre, or from Roman rhetoric to Indian acting theory; as well as a scalar approach, attentive to the interdependence between big and small examples, ranging from medieval processions and grand Renaissance spectacle to the micromanipulations of the puppet.

   • 2022, Jihoon Kim, Documentary's Expanded Fields:

     Seen in this light, Ruhr is a digital film that posits documentary uncertainty as its principle as Benning's digital micromanipulations create the temporal ambiguity of the durational image. However, Benning's micromanipulations suggest that documentary uncertainty always lies at the heart of documentary practices and their claiming of the real, whether potochemical or digital.

3. A subtly manipulative act; An interpersonal ploy to influence others without the direct use of power.

   The statement "So-and-so is idiotic, and anyone who says otherwise is also idiotic." is a micromanipulation in at least the sense of the intent of isolating the dissidents and other people from each other.

   • 1984, Jean Lipman-Blumen, Gender Roles and Power, page 91:

     In an earlier chapter we examined the way in which women are forced into micromanipulation — that is, interpersonal, intimate influence —to offset men's macromanipulation of the institutional structures and resources of society.

   • 2009, Mary Uhl-Bien, Raj Pillai, Michelle C. Bligh, Follower-Centered Perspectives on Leadership, page 15:

     . From necessity, the powerless use micromanipulation, while the powerful engage in macromanipulation, the process of influence at the societal or social policy level.

   • 2012, W.W. Cobern, Socio-Cultural Perspectives on Science Education, page 109:

     One of the consequences of this environment is that students rely upon micromanipulation and gender stereotypes. The following example highlights how female undergraduates by manipulating the stereotype that women cannot understand physics ensured that their male professor and teaching assistant completed the laboratory assignment for them.

   • 2020 November 25, Anna Breach, “Micromanipulation: The Covert Tactic That Narcissists Use in Arguments to Reassert Control”, in Stylist‎^[1]:

     In all these instances, you may be angry with your partner (or ex/soon-to-be ex) but their micromanipulations reawaken your empathy, meaning you turn instead to worry or regret.

Related terms

• micromanipulate
• micromanipulator

French

Etymology

micro- +‎ manipulation

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mi.kʁo.ma.ni.py.la.sjɔ̃/

Noun

micromanipulation f (plural micromanipulations)

1. micromanipulation

Further reading

• “micromanipulation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.