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
This being Nantucket, the team contended with stringent zoning regulations governing building footprints, rooflines, and window heights; finessing the layout felt like expert-level Tetris.
—
David Foxley,
Architectural Digest,
8 Apr. 2026
Trump has a rare and underestimated talent for finessing these internal fissures.
—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
12 Jan. 2026
This picks up any holding with both an honor and the nine onside, which outweighs the alternative play of finessing the 10.
—
Deb Harvell,
Arkansas Online,
12 Oct. 2025
The race to dominate the humanoid robotics market is as much about harvesting 3D data as finessing the nuts and bolts.
—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
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
David Foxley,
Architectural Digest,
8 Apr. 2026
Trump has a rare and underestimated talent for finessing these internal fissures.
—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
12 Jan. 2026
This picks up any holding with both an honor and the nine onside, which outweighs the alternative play of finessing the 10.
—
Deb Harvell,
Arkansas Online,
12 Oct. 2025
The race to dominate the humanoid robotics market is as much about harvesting 3D data as finessing the nuts and bolts.
—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finessing
Verb
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Twice already, in November of 2025 and February of this year, the seven states involved in re-negotiating water rights and use along with the 100-year old treaty kicked the can down the road and failed to come to an agreement on water sharing.
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Now lawmakers and Newsom are negotiating further cuts.
Verb
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Base editing, the process used to make the changes, only nicks one strand of DNA, avoiding the major DNA errors that made CRISPR unsafe.
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So, avoiding extreme sleep deprivation can be helpful.
Verb
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But Swedish intelligence recently alleged the country was manipulating economic data and that the true inflation rate could be much higher, perhaps as high as 15%.
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Fears of government officials manipulating world events – including the Iran war – to make a quick buck.
Verb
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According to the lawsuit, the defendants profited from unlawful short-term rentals while evading requirements in city law designed to protect short-term renters, protect the quality of life for neighborhood residents and maintain a supply of affordable housing.
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Robinzine was charged with evading arrest, unlawful possession of a firearm and tempering with physical evidence.
Verb
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Groff, who worked for Epstein for nearly two decades, was a central point-person in arranging the bookings with Amex, documents released by the Justice Department earlier this year indicated.
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The libraries that spent two years arguing that AI companies could not take their work without paying are now arranging to be paid for appearing inside the products built on top of them.
Verb
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Engineers have been trying to capture this escaping waste heat and turn it back into electricity using thermoelectric devices.
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The current population is a result of the toads escaping or being released by importers during the 1950s and ‘60s, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Verb
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Registration filed with the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office earlier this year suggests the all-day café is also plotting a location in the Eastover/Myers Park area.
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Five men were charged on June 16 for allegedly plotting to kill government officials and others attending the Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House on June 14, the Department of Justice said.
Verb
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More billionaires live here than in any other state, and many of the tech firms openly engineering a future without workers are headquartered or built here.
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But the new study takes things further – by engineering in an extra molecule for the worm to secrete.
Cite this Entry
“Finessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finessing. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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