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

• 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

Ryan O’Donnell, the interim executive director at Data for Progress, emphasized the overall finding that the electorate did not want Trump to finagle a third term. —David Weigel, semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2025

On Sunday, August 10, the JoBros kicked off their Jonas20 tour in New Jersey, with Nick telling the audience that after Joe landed a lead role in the Disney Channel Original Movie, their dad finagled a way for Kevin and Nick to get parts as well. —Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 11 Aug. 2025

This whole thing seems staged, planned, finagled, massaged, bamboozled, lollygagged, and all sorts of other long, silly-sounding words that may not necessarily apply to this situation. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2025

Can’t finagle a flight to Hawaii right now? —John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2025

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