1
as in negotiating
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 avoiding
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of finessing
But no amount of finessing the Beetle—the automotive equivalent of a Birkenstock sandal—would turn VW’s ugly duckling into a swan.
—
Robert Ross, Robb Report, 26 Sep. 2025
In traditional builds, this allows your PCI Express cards to be inserted straight down into the slot, rather than tilting the card and finessing its bracket through a rear-panel hole.
—PC Magazine, 14 Sep. 2025
But respect to Doja for finessing the fine points.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
Robert Ross, Robb Report, 26 Sep. 2025
In traditional builds, this allows your PCI Express cards to be inserted straight down into the slot, rather than tilting the card and finessing its bracket through a rear-panel hole.
—PC Magazine, 14 Sep. 2025
But respect to Doja for finessing the fine points.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finessing
Verb
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While major pro sports leagues feature a stable arrangement, with unionized players negotiating a CBA and collectively bargained terms exempt from antitrust scrutiny, the opposite is true in college sports.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
4 Oct. 2025
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The official also said that a negotiating team was getting ready to travel, but there was no date specified.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The cubs were taught essential survival skills—including hunting and avoiding humans—to get ready to be reintroduced to the wild.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
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The change also aligned with the WHO’s guidelines for naming diseases, which emphasize avoiding names that are offensive to cultural groups, or that negatively impact trade, tourism, or animal welfare.—
Dr. Nikki Romanik,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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With the technology becoming increasingly adept at creating convincing crowd scenes, manipulating visuals has never been easier.—
Chloe Veltman,
NPR,
3 Oct. 2025
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Julie asked Jimmy Heagerty about where things stood with Mickey Lee, and Jimmy said Morgan did a great job manipulating Mickey into sending him home.—
David Wysong,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This year’s skillshare in Philadelphia is slated to offer a series of hourlong workshops, including a lesson on evading law enforcement and eluding capture.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
2 Oct. 2025
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Jackson was apprehended a short time later and arrested for evading arrest or detention, police said.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Elite Asian Matchmaker is a white-glove service that handles all the logistics, from vetting potential matches to arranging dates, allowing clients to simply show up and enjoy the experience.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
2 Oct. 2025
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The tour company optimized the schedule to match workers' paid time off, by arranging departure days scheduled around holidays or weekends, which minimizes the days a traveler would need to take from work.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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After escaping prison in New Jersey in November 1979, Shakur lived in hiding for several years before being smuggled to Cuba, where Fidel Castro’s government granted her asylum in 1984.—
Essence,
Essence,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Female students were praying separately and escaping from another part of the school.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In February, four Hamas members suspected of plotting attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe went on trial in Berlin in what prosecutors described as the first court case against militants of the Palestinian group in Germany.—
Pilar Arias,
FOXNews.com,
1 Oct. 2025
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In December 2023, German and Dutch law enforcement arrested four people accused of plotting to attack Jewish institutions in Europe.—
Max Saltman,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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To address this, the research team focused on engineering the electrolyte’s co-solvent.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Sep. 2025
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The city is re-engineering one of the east side's major arteries to make way for the Blue Line, a 24-mile bus line between Cumberland and the Indianapolis International Airport.—
Ryan Murphy,
IndyStar,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Finessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finessing. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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