1
as in to negotiate
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care
let me look at my schedule and see if I can't finagle a visit to the museum
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to cheat
to use dishonest methods to achieve a goal
she'll finagle until she gets exactly what she wants
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of finagle
Even for the wealthiest colleges, temporarily upping annual endowment spending could require a bit of finagling.
—
Emma Whitford, Forbes, 3 Feb. 2025
Others have been dreading it—and would happily finagle a deal with the universe to skip to some other day four years down the road instead.
—Angela Haupt, TIME, 17 Jan. 2025
The lawsuit would drag on for years before a judge ruled, in 2022, that Lynch had indeed finagled the true value of Autonomy.
—airmail.news, 19 Aug. 2024
Ruby even somehow finagles AJ’s ultimate true crime fixation, Amanda Knox, into meeting AJ for dinner.
—Scarlett Harris, IndieWire, 21 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for finagle
Emma Whitford, Forbes, 3 Feb. 2025
Others have been dreading it—and would happily finagle a deal with the universe to skip to some other day four years down the road instead.
—Angela Haupt, TIME, 17 Jan. 2025
The lawsuit would drag on for years before a judge ruled, in 2022, that Lynch had indeed finagled the true value of Autonomy.
—airmail.news, 19 Aug. 2024
Ruby even somehow finagles AJ’s ultimate true crime fixation, Amanda Knox, into meeting AJ for dinner.
—Scarlett Harris, IndieWire, 21 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for finagle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finagle
Verb
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Officials have not made clear whether the White House is open to negotiating the tariffs.—
Sarah Fortinsky,
The Hill,
7 Apr. 2025
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Michael Barbaro speaks to Thomas Sipp, a lawyer who chose to quit after his firm, Skadden, negotiated a deal to placate the president. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture.—
Michael Barbaro,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Getty Images Photo: Getty Images Okay, cheating here a little, as Zendaya has already been cast as Ronnie Spector in Barry Jenkins’s biopic of the iconic singer and lead of the ’60s girl group the Ronettes.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
3 Apr. 2025
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Trump cheers major voter ID win — says Dems can’t 'cheat' anymore.—
FOXNews.com,
FOXNews.com,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Fran arranged a private flight for Marcos to Buenos Aires, which was also the same flight Martina was on to meet Fran as well.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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Following the eventful day, JGR arranged for a police escort for the return journey.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Cybercriminals can trick authentication systems, approve fraudulent transactions or even manipulate corporate communications.—
Khurram Akhtar,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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Some billions of years later, some of that multicellular life figured out how to be reasonably smart and start using tools to manipulate and control its environment.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
26 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Finagle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagle. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.
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