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
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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
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Recent Examples of finessing
But respect to Doja for finessing the fine points.
—
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
Instead of spending hours polishing, buffing and finessing the exterior to look shipshape, the crew can focus on enhancing the guest experience or supporting any scientific research happening on board.
—Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 11 Aug. 2025
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
Instead of spending hours polishing, buffing and finessing the exterior to look shipshape, the crew can focus on enhancing the guest experience or supporting any scientific research happening on board.
—Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finessing
Verb
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Traditional approaches focus on financial engineering such as negotiating discounts for long-term commitments, or on observability tools that track who is running what.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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The Teamsters announced on Facebook late Friday that their negotiating team has a tentative agreement for members to vote on, ending the strike and allowing next weekend’s Farm Aid concert to continue as planned at the U’s Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.—
Kristi Miller,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This was a logical progression in the war, as well as a response to the contradictions at the heart of an American policy that sought to assist Ukraine while avoiding direct confrontation with Russia.—
Robert Kagan,
The Atlantic,
10 Sep. 2025
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This means not just avoiding harm, but also actively promoting health and well-being preventively.—
Kristen Moon,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Former Formula One driver David Coulthard has accused the McLaren Racing F1 team of manipulating the Italian Grand Prix race results by issuing team orders during the race.—
Saajan Jogia,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
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The hacker’s malware focuses on stealing cryptocurrency by hijacking and manipulating the user's browser.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Villa have enjoyed a successful style, evading risk and playing with precision.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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Thomas Phillips and his children – believed to be ages 9, 10 and 12 – had been evading police in a remote part of the country’s North Island since December 2021, triggering a manhunt that gripped the nation.—
Todd Symons,
CNN Money,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Strategic leaders are the generals, arranging forces before engagements.—
George Bradt,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Lizzo plops down in a straw chair with familiarity, arranging the many pillows around her and assuming a palms-up position.—
Allison P. Davis,
Vulture,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Minnesota Vikings were on the short end of the score for three quarters as Caleb Williams was running and escaping from the pass rush and the Chicago Bears appeared to be on their way to a season-opening victory against the division rivals.—
Steve Silverman,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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This is psychoanalysis, plainly, and there is no escaping the mediation of the psyche.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Still, no reason to do this to Kyle, who is just only recovering from his self-destructive spiral and who has no idea that his friend is plotting to steal his girl again.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
9 Sep. 2025
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Its director, and franchise mastermind, Rian Johnson has proven himself a master of the whodunnit form with these films, showing a knack for Agatha Christie puzzle-plotting that, well, the actual adapters of Christie haven’t shown in recent years.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Rather than engineering microorganisms to speed up methane consumption, Stein values working with naturally occurring microbes and ecosystems.—
Katherine Bourzac,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
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The Animal Crossing decompilation community had just finished reverse-engineering the game's source code, providing readable C instead of PowerPC assembly.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Finessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finessing. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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