manipulate vs act upon

manipulate and act upon both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
manipulate	No	No	Yes	No
act upon	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, act upon is a hypernym of manipulate; that is, act upon is a word with a broader meaning than manipulate:

Other hypernyms of manipulate include influence, work.

manipulate (verb)	act upon (verb)
treat manually, as with massage, for therapeutic purposed	have and exert influence or effect
hold something in one's hands and move it
maintain influence over (others or oneself) skillfully, usually to one's advantage
manipulate in a fraudulent manner
influence or control shrewdly or deviously
tamper, with the purpose of deception