micromanipulation

Noun

micromanipulation (countable and uncountable, plural micromanipulations)

1. The manipulation of objects too small to be seen with the unaided eye.
   • Micromanipulations are performed in a Petri dish chamber.2012, A. Kuliev, Yury Verlinsky, Preimplantation Genetics, page 274
   • 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.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
2. A very small adjustment; a tweak.
   • Links with concretism are evident in the geometry of the song and in the micromanipulations of words, splits, and pairings, which multiply their suggestions.1996, Charles A. Perrone, Seven Faces: Brazilian Poetry Since Modernism, page 109
   • 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...2014, John Carvalho, The Crisis of Our Time
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.
   • 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.1984, Jean Lipman-Blumen, Gender Roles and Power, page 91