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
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
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
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The deal was negotiated by Range Select.—
Angelique Jackson,
Variety,
13 May 2026
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Epps is repped by UTA, producing partner Niles Kirchner, IAG for stand-up who negotiated this deal, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Even at Princeton, obviously, some students have always cheated.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
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To the curry-sphere and beyond Iyer cheated a touch with the book’s title because some chapters exist outside of the sauce world.—
Scott Hocker,
TheWeek,
11 May 2026
Verb
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The product is a cluster of six lie-flat sleep pods arranged in three tiers — the setup is essentially bunk beds in the sky — between the economy and premium economy cabins on its newest Boeing 787-9 aircraft.—
Chris Dong,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
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People sating their desires for food and company no longer need seedy hotels or hastily arranged Facebook events, now that brick-and-mortar spaces like Aikens’s restaurant exist.—
Victoria M. Walker,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors allege Saab and his associates manipulated the program through overpriced contracts and international financial transactions designed to conceal illicit proceeds.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
18 May 2026
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Musk’s core claim was that the co-founders had manipulated him into donating millions of dollars and eventually turned OpenAI into a for-profit.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, Steingart says the sites are engineered to slow down the spread of fire and give firefighters more time.—
Mahsa Saeidi,
CBS News,
16 May 2026
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Around 30 minutes from Yosemite National Park, this two-estate compound at Bass Lake was practically engineered for oversized family weekends.—
Natalie Hoberman,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Finagled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagled. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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