finagled

past tense of finagle

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 Even top-of-the-food-chain schools like Michigan, UCLA and Washington have recently finagled their balance sheets to cover athletic deficits. — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 15 July 2026 In Europe with friends, Reed finagled his way into the Venice Film Festival in 1965 and interviewed Buster Keaton and Jean-Paul Belmondo. — Duane Byrge, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finagled
Verb
  • Rival Kalshi in April became the first exchange to complete a block trade, which are large transactions negotiated privately to avoid price volatility that are typical on Wall Street.
    — Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The plan is for housing on-site, but city officials stress the land is not being sold and is instead being negotiated as a long-term lease.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Scarlett Johansson sued you over that, alleging that Disney cheated her out of box office upside.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026
  • OpenAI revealed that the Hugging Face hack wasn't the only time its bots had lied, cheated, and hidden its tracks from humans.
    — David Pogue, CBS News, 27 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Look out for crystals, beading, and embroidery arranged with enough precision to feel considered rather than excessive.
    — Corinne Pierre-Louis, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2026
  • With its octagonal clusters of flats arranged around a central water tower that looks like a fist raised against the sky, the neighborhood doesn’t have much spirit of community.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 26 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The senses of anyone entering these tombs were heavily manipulated.
    — Jacqueline Ortoleva, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Researcher Peter Garrigan told Fox News Moonshot AI's Kimi model could also be manipulated to provide information on planning terrorist attacks using real-time data, creating sarin gas, developing malware and taking down aircraft.
    — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Wrapped in a tough, drop-proof fabric shell that floats and shrugs off water, it is engineered to survive real-world chaos.
    — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Watch for detergent makers to market enzyme blends specifically engineered for cold, which would signal the industry sees cold water as the permanent default.
    — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 28 Sep. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Finagled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagled. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster