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
Other songs are less terminally online and more reminiscent of finagling fake IDs and getting blitzed on the LES.
—
Lydia Wei, Pitchfork, 20 Feb. 2026
Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski likes to finagle with footwork in his free time, studying and practicing patterns that help him outwit defenders on the basketball court.
—Sam Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Jan. 2026
And somehow that felt easier to finagle than this.
—Samantha Leal, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Jan. 2026
Save them the struggle of having to finagle with a manual wine bottle opener.
—Brandi Fuller, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for finagle
Lydia Wei, Pitchfork, 20 Feb. 2026
Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski likes to finagle with footwork in his free time, studying and practicing patterns that help him outwit defenders on the basketball court.
—Sam Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Jan. 2026
And somehow that felt easier to finagle than this.
—Samantha Leal, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Jan. 2026
Save them the struggle of having to finagle with a manual wine bottle opener.
—Brandi Fuller, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for finagle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finagle
Verb
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Despite attempts to negotiate the Strait of Hormuz’s reopening during an ongoing ceasefire, the narrow waterway remains shut to virtually all ship traffic.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
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Olthof Homes successfully challenged a $100,000 penalty levied by the town in the Indiana Court of Appeals, so a lower fine was negotiated between the two parties.—
Amy Lavalley,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Fred, their oldest surviving child, was suspended from Princeton for cheating, then caught embezzling from his Seattle employer to feed, Church suspected, a gambling habit.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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Venezuela contends the Americans and Europeans conspired to cheat their country out of the land.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Despite the setbacks, Rivera and Nuhfer continued to communicate with Sessions and arranged for the congressman to travel to Caracas to meet with Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, at a military compound near the presidential palace on April 2, 2018.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
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Ride-share services are readily available, golf carts can be arranged in select areas and most stations are located in or just steps from vibrant downtown districts.—
Karon Warren,
AJC.com,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, college and professional athletes have also been caught trying to manipulate prediction markets as online sports betting has exploded.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
2 May 2026
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For decades, people have used tools such as Photoshop to manipulate digital imagery.—
Lila Shroff,
The Atlantic,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Finagle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagle. Accessed 7 May. 2026.
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