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 Jarowey and SVP of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi on behalf of Vertical and by Anant Tamirisa for AGC International, which is handling worldwide sales for the film.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The deal was negotiated by Greenwich’s Jasper Basch with Cinetic’s Zach Magid representing the filmmakers.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
McMann hunted, but never cheated, for offence.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Experts say such scam operations in Cambodia and elsewhere have cheated people around the world out of billions of dollars and tricked people from many countries to work in them under slave-like conditions.—
Sakchai Lalit,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Two days after Jamarrien Monroe and his 5-year-old cousin were killed, police arrested Tyreion Nixon-Clark in connection with an unrelated homicide motivated by robbery in which the suspect arranged a meeting that the victim thought was to be a rifle sale, authorities said.—
Emerson Clarridge
Updated February 6,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Kimani parked beside a clearing where chairs had been arranged around a fire.—
Flora Stubbs,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Last year, many were convinced American politics would be destabilized by videos manipulated by artificial intelligence, or lulled into a post-truth stupor by AI slop.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
-
What’s interesting is the NBA has moved away from some events that either have become stale or manipulated, such as the skills competition giving way at next week’s All-Star Weekend.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The Hoka boots have a durable and winter-proof mesh upper made mostly of recycled polyester, and a Vibram Megagrip EVA sole engineered to grasp the slickest surfaces.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Feb. 2026
-
There is a secondary time zone handle included, specifically designed for GMT, and the case and crystal have been engineered to be incredibly thin without sacrificing on performance.—
John Monaco,
InStyle,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Finagled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagled. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
