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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of finagle
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
See All Example Sentences for finagle
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
See All Example Sentences for finagle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finagle
Verb
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The small extension was meant to buy time for Democratic lawmakers to negotiate with the GOP and White House over changes to DHS in the wake of the fatal shootings of Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis last month.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
3 Feb. 2026
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However, as Comer threatened to begin contempt of Congress proceedings, the Clintons started negotiating towards a compromise.—
Stephen Groves,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Celia Arguerro, who also has a handicap parking permit, is tired of waiting for reform to catch people cheating the system.—
Larry Seward,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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He likely already would have been inducted were in not for his part in the Astros’ ugly cheating scandal in 2017.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors claim Sainz Salazar served as a key fentanyl producer for the Chapitos from about 2022 through 2025, helping manufacture millions of pills, arranging drug transactions under armed protection and operating labs that later became central to the group’s fentanyl production.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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Mustique also has a small hotel, Cotton House, where 17 guest rooms and suites are arranged between a two-story building and a series of garden cottages.—
Flora Stubbs,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Over the past year, security researchers have been warning that hackers are increasingly targeting the technology behind global shipping, quietly manipulating systems that move goods worth millions of dollars.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
31 Jan. 2026
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The messages—widely condemned as vulgar, misogynistic, racist, and homophobic—also revealed discussions about manipulating media coverage, targeting political opponents, and casual references to the misuse of public funds.—
Israel Melendez Ayala,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Finagle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagle. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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