1
as in negotiated
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 cheated
to use dishonest methods to achieve a goal
she'll finagle until she gets exactly what she wants
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of finagled
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finagled
Verb
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Even though the law’s full implementation will roll out over time (the Governor negotiated amendments delaying certain provisions, fintech firms should begin aligning with its spirit.—
AJ Dhaliwal,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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But such a deal would still need to be directly negotiated with Denmark and Greenland.—
Stefan Becket,
CBS News,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Bondi forgave a crime that had put people’s lives at risk and cheated the government of vaccine doses that could have been given to others.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
8 Jan. 2026
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The tension resurfaced when her sister discovered her partner had cheated again and asked to stay at the poster’s home with both children.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The goal is to move all the disks to the last pole with them arranged in the same order—but each disk may only be placed on a larger disk, never on a smaller one.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
10 Jan. 2026
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The following month, Acebedo-Garcia arranged the details for the first shipment — 293 kilos.—
Jesse Hyde,
Rolling Stone,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Freedom from fear mattered because frightened societies are easily manipulated.—
Philip Martin,
Washington Post,
7 Jan. 2026
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In some cases, CBS News ran images through AI detection tools, which can be inconsistent or inaccurate but can still help flag possibly manipulated content.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The silky fibers are smartly engineered to absorb moisture and promote airflow, helping even the warmest sleepers stay comfortable all night long.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
12 Jan. 2026
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Matthew Stafford engineered the comeback with the winning touchdown pass, playing through a finger injury on his throwing hand.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Finagled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagled. Accessed 24 Jan. 2026.
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