1
as in negotiated
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care
had to finesse the schedule a bit to fit in another patient that afternoon
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in avoided
to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery
tried to finesse the blame for the foreign policy fiasco, even though he was secretary of state at the time
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of finessed
In the other, a talented pitcher in a true breakout year overpowered some hitters and, against others, finessed his way out of pressure spots with men on base.
—
Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
The state finessed that by assuming his car was repaired after the robbery.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2025
Language was finessed in other ways, too.
—Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025
Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
The state finessed that by assuming his car was repaired after the robbery.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2025
Language was finessed in other ways, too.
—Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finessed
Verb
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The deal was negotiated between Signature Entertainment’s Acquisitions Executive Max Hart and Kinology’s CEO Grégoire Melin.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
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Participation alone seems to be the end goal, the assemblage of a cacophony of voices without any avenues to interrogate the way power is shared or negotiated in collective spaces.—
Kate Wagner,
Curbed,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Notably, Miami midfielder Sergio Busquets avoided punishment after appearing to strike Vargas on the chin during the post-match melee.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
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During his March 2023 visit to Mariupol, Putin had avoided the theater.—
Yegor Mostovshikov,
The Dial,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This on-the-edge-of-death thriller appears to deliver on every front—from the ever-alluring Fan Bingbing who lends a cool authority Neeson’s stoic presence, to the set pieces engineered to make your palms sweat, to the thread of grief and trauma that gives the action some ballast.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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Working closely with Perfect Game’s Tournament Operations team, BatWraps engineered its wraps to meet all bat-use requirements.—
Sportico Staff,
Sportico.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Large swaths of eastern Colorado have evaded the drought plaguing most of the state west of 25.—
John Meyer,
Denver Post,
10 Sep. 2025
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Weaponized stubbornness Scoring is a straightforward concept, but success in this realm evaded Florida Saturday night.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Trump claimed without evidence that McEntarfer had manipulated statistics for political reasons.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
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By the end of the episode, Isaac is dead, Nibs has had part of her memory wiped, and Slightly has been manipulated by Morrow into letting one of the face-huggers turn Arthur into a Xenomorph incubator.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Having escaped disaster and gauged the full extent of American self-deterrence, Putin began putting pressure on Ukraine’s neighbors and suppliers.—
Robert Kagan,
The Atlantic,
10 Sep. 2025
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One snake got tear-gassed by police, then shot at five times, and still escaped—only to finally meet its match with a garden hoe (obviously).—
Popular Science Team,
Popular Science,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Polymarket website on a smartphone arranged in Germantown, New York, US, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.—
Sean Conlon,
CNBC,
3 Sep. 2025
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The split will reverse a massive but largely unsuccessful 2015 merger arranged by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and the investment firm 3G Capital, Heinz and Kraft’s owners at the time.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN Money,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For one, Leonard signed a max contract—unlike with Smith and the Timberwolves, there’s no claim Leonard and the Clippers plotted a scheme where he’d be paid less in the short term in exchange for being paid more later.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
5 Sep. 2025
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This was a far cry from a year ago, when Muchová and Osaka played each other in the second round and Muchová plotted Osaka’s movements around the court for her, opening up space, then using her touch to drop the ball into it.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Finessed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finessed. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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