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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Critics chided the college for not negotiating specific benefits or concessions for the school in exchange for its land.—
Claire Heddles,
Miami Herald,
19 Feb. 2026 -
That knowledge translates directly into negotiating power — and into avoiding the expensive surprises that catch unprepared buyers off guard.—
Allison Palmer
Updated February 19,
Kansas City Star,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Swedish team accused Canada of cheating, specifically reporting that Canada’s Marc Kennedy was illegally touching his stone.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
21 Feb. 2026
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The state has intervened in districts for reasons such as fiscal mismanagement, cheating scandals and consistently failing academic performance at a campus.—
Jessica Ma,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Hogan and his men secretly functioned as an espionage and sabotage operation, successfully manipulating the inept Germans over the course of 168 episodes.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
18 Feb. 2026
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Trump fired former Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer in August, implying that the agency was manipulating labor market data under her leadership.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Of course, standard service like checking you in, unpacking your luggage, and arranging your room and amenities to your liking is taken care of effortlessly.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 Feb. 2026
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Since then, Elizabeth has been as important to Copeland’s professional life as his personal life, co-founding a children’s theater school with him, arranging his music, and supporting him as he was launched from obscurity.—
Matthew Blackwell,
Pitchfork,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Then, in overtime, Team USA’s Megan Keller made an incredible individual play, maneuvering around a defender and then chipping the puck past the goalie.—
The Sports Desk,
NBC news,
20 Feb. 2026
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With growing amounts of space debris in low earth orbit, managing and maneuvering large numbers of satellites would require autonomous collision-avoidance systems, Curlee said.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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These are not engineering questions alone.—
Nathanael Bondu,
Rolling Stone,
19 Feb. 2026
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The challenge is engineering a device that can both recognize diseased tissue and deliver medication quickly and precisely.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Despite a pathological fear of climbing after a tragic accident, Aaron sets off to rescue sister Seren in stunning Snowdonia, colliding with a far-right faction plotting a violent outrage in the local mountains.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
23 Feb. 2026
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The staff at this school is plotting a secret wedding … for the principal.—
Ronnie Li,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Finagling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagling. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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