finagle

verb

fi·​na·​gle fə-ˈnā-gəl 

finagled; finagling fə-ˈnā-g(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

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.

intransitive verb

: 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

finagler

fə-ˈnā-g(ə-)lər 

noun

Synonyms

• contrive
• engineer
• finesse
• frame
• machinate
• maneuver
• manipulate
• mastermind
• negotiate
• wangle

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

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

But the resolution might require more than just mathematically finagling the traditional equations. —Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2021

Word History

Etymology

perhaps alteration of fainaigue to renege

First Known Use

circa 1924, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

finagle

verb

fi·​na·​gle fə-ˈnā-gəl 

finagled; finagling -g(ə-)liŋ 

: to use trickery to get what one wants

finagler

-g(ə-)lər 

noun