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
Try finagling these parts out, or read the manual for your model to see if this is an option.
—
Natalia Gonzalez Blanco Serrano, The Spruce, 11 May 2026
That's a reasonable take, but getting to the point of expanding the postseason once again is going to take some finagling at this time.
—Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
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
Natalia Gonzalez Blanco Serrano, The Spruce, 11 May 2026
That's a reasonable take, but getting to the point of expanding the postseason once again is going to take some finagling at this time.
—Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finagling
Verb
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Much of the present state, Taylor notes, is a result of historic misalignment of incentives, between a retailer’s trade teams—some of whom are focused on negotiating margins from suppliers in exchange for promotions and the retail media teams whose charge is to generate new revenue.—
David Doty,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
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Esmail Qaani, the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, offered his gratitude and personal endorsement to Ghalibaf and the rest of the negotiating team.—
Hamidreza Azizi,
Time,
19 June 2026
Verb
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For example, a spouse who catches their partner cheating and kills someone in the heat of emotion.—
Lorena O’Neil,
Rolling Stone,
17 June 2026
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Few colleges have developed an intellectual integrity curriculum that treats cheating as a habit and works to counter it over the four years of a student’s college education.—
Austin Sarat,
The Conversation,
17 June 2026
Verb
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Fears of government officials manipulating world events – including the Iran war – to make a quick buck.—
Matt Motta,
The Conversation,
16 June 2026
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What online scammers are looking to steal The FBI issued a warning last month that cybercriminals are manipulating or reproducing the official FIFA World Cup website to scam fans who are looking for tickets, hospitality packages, merchandise, streaming access and betting opportunities.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Angelina Guatemala, 64, counted on federal food stamps after retiring a couple of years ago in Ogden, Kansas, from assorted jobs arranging flowers, decorating cakes in shops, and preparing meals.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
19 June 2026
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Let the flowers rest in the bucket of water for an hour to rehydrate fully before arranging them.—
Viveka Neveln,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 June 2026
Verb
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Alicent's father is the Hand of the King, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), who spends years maneuvering to make sure his grandson inherits the Iron Throne.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
20 June 2026
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The Wings have more to offer, with a prospect pool that colleague Scott Wheeler ranked fourth in the league, but the Larkin dilemma may prevent them from maneuvering more aggressively.—
Vincent Z. Mercogliano,
New York Times,
12 June 2026
Verb
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The closest the Red Sox have come to engineering such a dramatic turnaround came in 1955 when the Red Sox sat 10 games under (20-30) on June 5 before going 60-26 over their next 86 games.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
14 June 2026
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Following the verification of the engine’s mechanical performance, company officials stated that widespread adoption now depends on external economic factors rather than engineering capabilities.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
14 June 2026
Verb
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Kainerugaba has threatened to hang Besigye, accusing him of plotting to kill Museveni.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 June 2026
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Hidden amongst them are the Werewolves, a secret set plotting to eliminate players one by one and steal the prize.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Finagling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagling. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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