1
as in negotiating
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 cheating
to use dishonest methods to achieve a goal
she'll finagle until she gets exactly what she wants
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finagling
Verb
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Disregard global cooperation Warsh said that former Fed Chair Janet Yellen and Powell spent too much time negotiating with global regulators.—
Jacqueline Munis,
Fortune,
30 Jan. 2026 -
The most difficult part will be negotiating concessions that both sides can swallow in such a short period.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Contessa’s Corner Sports leagues, state gambling regulators and tribal leaders have all raised concerns that prediction market trades on sports don’t have the same level of guardrails as sportsbooks to protect against cheating by athletes, referees, coaches and other insiders.—
Alex Sherman,Contessa Brewer,
CNBC,
9 Jan. 2026
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The predictions were that unleashing AI to the world at large would lead to an exponential rise in cheating at school and that student essays would cease to be original.—
Degen Pener,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Using Henry's good nature … by lying to him, by manipulating him.—
Natalie Morales,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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Uhlaender accused the Canadian team and its coach, Joe Cecchini, of intentionally withdrawing the athletes, deliberately manipulating the field to benefit one of their own sliders’ bids for qualification.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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At 99, Mel Brooks does not speak like a man arranging his legacy.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Jan. 2026
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Decorating Your Flight While these compound butter ideas are mouthwatering on their own, arranging the tray is all part of the fun of a butter flight.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Just a few weeks after intense reporting about city and county politicians maneuvering in the wake of Daley’s death, Talbott was named the Sun-Times’ political editor in January 1977.—
Bob Goldsborough,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Jan. 2026
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Its flight capabilities have been tuned to enable maneuvering indoors, whether that's a building, a tunnel, or an industrial facility; this is supported by pilot assistance and localization systems that can operate even without GPS.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The company is engineering the next generation of high-power microwave systems from GHz to THz frequencies.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Jan. 2026
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But below deck, in machinery spaces and fuel tanks, Norway is quietly engineering its post-oil future.—
Ryan Craggs,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But the city is plotting a decisive — if a little uneven — course toward a carbon-free future.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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Lowe's merchandising and marketing teams have started plotting out a 12-month plan of items that the company bets could become trending products, with about three to five items debuting each quarter, Wilson said.—
Melissa Repko,
CNBC,
22 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Finagling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagling. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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