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
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Recent Examples of finagling
Other songs are less terminally online and more reminiscent of finagling fake IDs and getting blitzed on the LES.
—
Lydia Wei, Pitchfork, 20 Feb. 2026
Lydia Wei, Pitchfork, 20 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finagling
Verb
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The companies could also sell excess power generation to utilities for public consumption, in addition to negotiating separate rate structures with public utilities and states, ensuring expenses are not passed on to consumers.—
Josh Boak,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
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And, creditors and debt collectors are often open to negotiating a settlement even after a lawsuit has been filed.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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When doing that, they‘ve made it to the World Series once, losing to the cheating Houston Astros.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Feb. 2026
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Ilia Malinin was at the center of a cheating scandal where fans accused another figure skater, Gracie Gold, of cheating on her boyfriend, Nam Nguyen.—
StyleCaster Editors,
StyleCaster,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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There’s a rich commonality between him and Venus that could be explored here—who’s manipulating Rika more?—
Sarah Chihaya,
New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2026
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Epstein offered to host Mandelson in a New York apartment in 2009, about five months before the two discussed by email manipulating then-British premier Gordon Brown to step down.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Authorities conducted a sting operation in September, arranging to meet her in a hotel room that Mays rented.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
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All that interior volume should inspire some serious creativity in terms of arranging different floor plans.—
C.C. Weiss
March 05,
New Atlas,
5 Mar. 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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Canada is not the only country that has accused Indian officials of plotting an assassination on foreign soil.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2026
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Ready to start plotting your own Athens adventure?—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Finagling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagling. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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