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 of finagle

• negotiate
• arrange
• manipulate

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

After Lestat finagles his way into becoming the King Raj of Mardi Gras in 1940, the vampire trio throws an extravagant bash that ends in a bloodbath. —Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026

In Europe with friends, Reed finagled his way into the Venice Film Festival in 1965 and interviewed Buster Keaton and Jean-Paul Belmondo. —Duane Byrge, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026

Try finagling these parts out, or read the manual for your model to see if this is an option. —Natalia Gonzalez Blanco Serrano, The Spruce, 11 May 2026

That's a reasonable take, but getting to the point of expanding the postseason once again is going to take some finagling at this time. —Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026

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