18 Signs of a Manipulative Woman that Can Leave You Lost & Confused

When you know the signs of a manipulative woman, it makes them much easier to spot! Understand a woman like this and get out of her way – fast!

A healthy relationship involves plenty of give and take. You give your partner all your love, attention, and support, but you also expect to receive the same in return, You might think that giving a little more is a good thing, but if it is at the expense of your well-being, it’s a no-no. In this case, you need to take a step back and look at what is going on. Can you see the signs of a manipulative woman in your relationship?

You’d be surprised how many relationships have an element of manipulation within them. We often don’t see what’s going on right underneath our noses when we’re totally in love.

The problem is, not everyone is completely honest about their intentions. For sure, she might love you back, but she might also have a pretty manipulative nature that pushes her to play you without your knowledge.

[Read: Am I manipulative? 20 signs you manipulate the people in your life]

Why is manipulation in a relationship so damaging?

We all use a few manipulation tactics every now and again to get what we want. We’re human after all, and that means we’re pretty flawed occasionally.

However, a one-off episode here and here doesn’t make you a manipulative person. The signs of a manipulative woman come into play when she uses tactics to get what she wants on a regular basis.

She might be passive-aggressive. Perhaps she uses gaslighting. Or, maybe she guilt trips you for no reason. These are just three of the most common manipulation tactics around. [Read: 15 signs of manipulation in a relationship you should never ignore]

Manipulation in a relationship is damaging because it means one partner is doing all the taking and the other is doing all the giving. The balance is totally out of whack.

You’re basically being taken advantage of, and that’s not cool. Over time, your confidence might start to be eroded, or you might start resenting your partner for how you feel.

It’s a form of control that has no place in a relationship and if that sounds like your union, it’s something you need to address – stat! [Read: Emotional manipulation – 14 ways people mess with your mind]

The most obvious signs of a manipulative woman

Manipulation in a relationship is not always easy to accept and can be a painful thing to realize. However, it is always best to know the early signs of manipulation before you become a victim.

Despite their deception, manipulative people can be consistent and tend to display a specific set of behaviors.

If you see the following signs of a manipulative woman, then talk to her about it, or consider getting out of such a relationship! [Read: 28 signs of a bad girlfriend and how to spot a girl who’s bad for you]

1. Sudden and overreactive emotional outbursts during arguments

Sudden emotional outbursts, such as crying or shouting fits are very troublesome. Normal couples may sometimes argue; if anything, the odd argument here and there can help you to clear the air. However, you hear both sides in order to reach a compromise and move on.

Manipulative people play the emotional outburst card once they feel their argument is crumbling and they are cornered.

Emotional outbursts can also be used as a weapon to embarrass you in front of your friends or to gain the sympathy of other people in public places. [Read: The signs she’s an attention whore who’s just using you for attention]

2. She plays nice every time she needs something from you

Manipulative women either act very sweet and amicable or sometimes go as far as bribing you with sexual favors. They expect you to do something in return.

One of the major signs of a manipulative woman is when this type of behavior happens often. Sure, everyone can be manipulative occasionally, but this type of woman will treat you coldly or indifferently most of the time, unless she wants something.

They only put up a façade of affection when they are about to ask for a favor. [Read: The signs she is using you emotionally just to get her needs met]

3. She only texts or calls you if she needs something from you

You only hear from her if she needs you to buy her stuff or do some chores for her. Oftentimes, you realize that long-distance couples talk more often compared to the two of you.

For manipulative women, communication is only necessary to get something out of you.

4. She makes you feel like the worst partner in the world if you don’t do what she wants – one of the cruel signs of a manipulative woman

In short, she acts like a spoiled brat. If she doesn’t throw a temper tantrum, she plays on your emotions by making you question your worth as a significant other if you don’t comply with her demands.

You could compare this to gaslighting, a common technique used by a narcissist – at the end of the day it is still a form of manipulation. [Read: Gaslighting – What it is, how it works and 22 signs to stop it ASAP]

5. She constantly fails to contribute financially to the relationship

AKA she lets you keep buying her stuff and pay for her expenses without doing the same for you. While it is a bit of a relationship tradition for guys to take a larger share of a relationship’s expenses, a decent partner at least attempts to give their fair share of spending in the relationship.

On the other hand, manipulative women would not even bother to attempt to reach for their purses when the bill comes. They make the lamest excuses to avoid contributing financially. [Read: How to talk about money with your partner without fighting about it]

6. She often plays the victm, even if she’s in the wrong

When she gets called out for something she has done, she most likely twists the narrative to make it appear that you are the one at fault.

She won’t admit or apologize for her own mistake. Instead, she’ll blame everything on you and make it look like everything is your fault.

She’ll often do this very loudly because public humiliation is one of the major tactics for manipulative women. [Read: 16 signs a narcissist is subtly manipulating you]

7. She will ignore you rather than apologize first

When a couple argues, sometimes they reach an impasse where both temporarily lay off communicating in order to clear their heads. Under normal circumstances, one or both break the sulking stalemate and apologize.

However, a manipulative woman doesn’t care if you don’t talk ever again. She’ll never initiate an apology even if she is the one in the wrong. You’ll end up apologizing for something that isn’t your fault, just to get things back to some kind of “normal” once more.

8. She feigns ignorance

If she doesn’t know, she cannot be accused of something. Feigning ignorance is a common tactic of manipulative people to avoid being accountable for their own actions.

A manipulative woman usually employs this as an excuse to get out of relationship responsibilities or divert attention and blame away from her. [Read: 20 signs she’s leading you on, using you and only pretending to love you]

9. One of the most annoying signs of a manipulative woman – Your problems are insignificant compared to hers

When you notice your partner belittles your problems, she is probably using manipulation as a tactic.

Manipulative people display extreme forms of selfishness and lack of empathy towards the suffering of other people, even if that person is their significant other. Everything in her life will be ten times more important than anything going on in yours.

10. She’s a regular guilt-tripper

If your partner still gives you grief for an old mistake and constantly brings it up to make you feel guilty, then she probably is a manipulative woman.

Guilt-tripping is nothing more than emotional manipulation. The manipulator uses their victim’s emotional vulnerability to get them to do the things they want. Again, this is gaslighting at its best.

11. You hook up more than you spend quality time together

Hookups are cheap and temporary. Spending time together, on the other hand, requires each person to invest a degree of intimacy towards the other.

Manipulative people are naturally selfish. They would rather stick with hookups as a means to satisfy their physical needs. They don’t want to deal with the hassle of emotional intimacy. For them, quality time is an unnecessary waste of time and effort. [Read: Devious signs of manipulative behavior you should never ignore]

12. She’s inconsiderate of your general wellbeing

For a manipulative woman, you’re just a tool to be used and a means to an end. She doesn’t care if you spend a great deal of effort, time, or money whilst trying to please her.

Her natural selfishness dictates that her needs are more important than yours. She will probably get mad at you and paint you as the villain for not doing more for her.

13. She regularly withholds things you need or want

One of the key signs of a manipulative woman is withholding something from you. Of course, she doesn’t have to give you anything if she’s not in agreement but in this case, she’s doing it because she knows she can twist the situation and get something from you instead. [Read: Using sex as a weapon? 10 harsh truths you need to know]

It’s bribery in its most basic form. She could withhold money she owes you or a loan you’ve asked for, sex, affection, or basically something you need. It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s nothing short of manipulation.

14. She’s a pro at giving you the silent treatment

This doesn’t have to be about making you apologize for something that is her fault, she might simply go very quiet indeed.

The aim here is to make you do anything to get her to talk to you again. It could be over text or in person, but it’s extremely manipulative. [Read: Silent treatment abuse – How to take a stand and get back in control]

15. She likes to make you jealous

Just so you know that she doesn’t need you, she just wants you, she’ll often try to make you jealous. She might flirt with other men in front of you and then laugh when you call her out on it.

Of course, she’ll call you crazy for suggesting that she’s doing anything wrong. This, in her eyes, keeps you in your place.

16. She pulls you down

If you have success at work or a great opportunity comes your way, she might try and persuade you not to go for it, or pull you down a little.

This is because when you’re on the up, it worries her. You might go and find another woman who doesn’t manipulate you. Deep down, she knows what she’s doing, she just doesn’t want to change. [Read: What type of narcissism should you be on the lookout for?]

17. She’ll turn on the charm like a switch

One of the signs of a manipulative woman is that she can turn her charm on and off like a switch, should she need to. If she thinks that you’re becoming a little tired of her behavior, she’ll resort back to being sweet and wonderful.

However, it won’t be long before her true colors show once more. In many ways, there’s a lot of overlap between narcissism and general manipulation.

18. She knows what buttons to press

A manipulative woman can be pretty clever when it comes to knowing how to play you. She’s studied you pretty well, you see, and now she knows what buttons to press to get what she wants. That’s why she might make you jealous sometimes and then revert back to being sweet and nice. She’s playing mind-games! [Read: Do narcissists know they are narcissists?]

You’re seeing the signs of a manipulative woman, but can a woman like this ever change?

For sure, but it’s unlikely unless she sees the error of her ways and actually wants to change.

Manipulation could be so ingrained in her personality that she believes it’s the only way to get what she wants. The only way to try and save your relationship, if you really believe it’s worth saving, is to sit down and have an honest conversation.

Be prepared for a backlash, because even if she does end up wanting to change in the end, there’s bound to be resistance at first. [Read: Manipulative people – How to spot them and stop playing the victim]

What you need to do is to recognize the signs of a manipulative woman so you can protect yourself against her behavior. Know that you’re being manipulated and see through her tactics.

Then, call her on them and make it known that you’re setting boundaries and won’t be manipulated anymore. If that doesn’t work, you have to wave goodbye to the relationship, for your own good.

[Read: Psychological manipulation – 16 signs & tactics real manipulators use]

Girls aren’t purely sugar, spice, and everything nice. They can also be capable of cruel things. Understand the signs of a manipulative woman and be forewarned.