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
Relevance
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
The deal was negotiated by Emily Hayward Whitlock at The Artists Partnership.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
2 Oct. 2025
-
After years of organizing, production workers on commercials have negotiated their first union contract.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
When Swift acts in a way that is seemingly out of character, audiences feel cheated.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
6 Oct. 2025
-
The scandal exposed how some wealthy families cheated and bribed to secure spots for their children at elite universities, sparking nationwide outrage over denied opportunities for more deserving students.—
Hanna Park,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Two mental health professionals are arranged to testify on the impact of all of these factors, Reynolds said.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The continual delays have led to many embarrassing moments, the most recent coming last Tuesday, when, after Barca officials told the media the Camp Nou was ready, the Barcelona city council arranged a press conference of their own in reply.—
Pol Ballús,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The first one played short caught Newcastle by surprise and manipulated their zonal defenders.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
-
China has manipulated the market by suppressing prices to drive Western competition from the market, said Ryan Castilloux, founder of Adamas Intelligence, a critical mineral market research firm.—
Spencer Kimball,
CNBC,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
This is done, the company claims, by using ultra-smooth surfaces made from advanced composite materials engineered for both strength and durability, with minimal surface distortion.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
2 Oct. 2025
-
PacBio uses special versions of the four bases that have been engineered to fluoresce in a characteristic color when exposed to ultraviolet light.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Finagled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagled. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share