finagle
verb
fi·na·gle
fə-ˈnā-gəl 
finagled; finagling
fə-ˈnā-g(ə-)liŋ
1
: to obtain (something) by indirect or involved means
finagle a ride home
2
: to obtain (something) by trickery
He finagled his way into the concert.
: to use devious or dishonest methods to achieve one's ends
I have long craved a convention where someone had to wheel and deal, … maneuver and finagle, to win the crown.—
Mark Plotkin
Mark PlotkinSynonyms
Examples of finagle in a Sentence
A con man finagled my neighbor out of four hundred dollars.
let me look at my schedule and see if I can't finagle a visit to the museum
Recent Examples on the Web
Shapiro and his business partner, Jeff Franklin, finagled a deal with New York’s fledgling USA Network to supply two hours of content a night, which eventually turned into eight; the network would split the advertising revenue with them 50/50, at $300 for a 30-second slot.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 9 Dec. 2024
In June 1993, Caldwell finagled a job as a tennis instructor at Virginia’s oldest girls’ camp, Camp Carysbrook, by presenting himself as a student at Roanoke College.
—Brendan Borrell, Outside Online, 17 Oct. 2017
Eve and Nick are incredibly interesting characters because in many narratives such as this one — an unwitting couple tries to scam or steal or finagle a better life with rapidly escalating moral quandaries tied to the consequences — the story takes dark and thorny turns.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2024
As Ora cooled her high heels by the theater entrance, Waititi dealt with finagling ApplePay, holding multiple drinks, and frequent requests for selfies.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 16 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for finagle 
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Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 9 Dec. 2024
In June 1993, Caldwell finagled a job as a tennis instructor at Virginia’s oldest girls’ camp, Camp Carysbrook, by presenting himself as a student at Roanoke College.
—Brendan Borrell, Outside Online, 17 Oct. 2017
Eve and Nick are incredibly interesting characters because in many narratives such as this one — an unwitting couple tries to scam or steal or finagle a better life with rapidly escalating moral quandaries tied to the consequences — the story takes dark and thorny turns.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2024
As Ora cooled her high heels by the theater entrance, Waititi dealt with finagling ApplePay, holding multiple drinks, and frequent requests for selfies.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 16 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for finagle
Dictionary Entries Near finagle
Cite this Entry
“Finagle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/finagle. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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finagle
verb
fi·na·gle
fə-ˈnā-gəl
finagled; finagling
-g(ə-)liŋ
: to use trickery to get what one wants
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