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
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
Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finessing
Verb
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On Tinder alone, men dominate the active user base, which gives women more choice and negotiating power.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Brown as the crafty Pauline is the true scene stealer, negotiating terms of terror herself.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Holding the youths accountable and avoiding jail is not the program's only goal.—
Everett Eaton,
jsonline.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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But avoiding these motions is another way for the wrist to weaken.—
Novant Health,
Charlotte Observer,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Was Prater manipulating evidence?—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
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One was based on hard-coding logical rules for categorizing inputs into symbols and then for manipulating those symbols to arrive at outputs.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Ogles has attacked O’Connell repeatedly this year, claiming city government has assisted violent criminals in evading arrest by federal immigration enforcement.—
Vivian Jones,
Nashville Tennessean,
4 Sep. 2025
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After six months of barely evading capture, an escape plan was hatched that saw the soldier cross into Spain and eventual freedom.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Around the country, arranging for housing is a relatively new and growing challenge for such PACE groups, which are funded through Medicaid and Medicare.—
Felice J. Freyer,
Miami Herald,
3 Sep. 2025
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One study — admittedly small and enabled by the hack of affair-arranging app Ashley Madison in 2015 — found that companies whose CEOs or CFOs were paying users of the site were twice as likely to have had a financial misstatement or involvement in a securities class action.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
2 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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The Kremlin rejected the allegation, stressing that Putin was not plotting against Washington.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
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The case became even more horrifying when he was accused of plotting to silence a key witness.—
Doc Louallen,
ABC News,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Allen was simply magnificent, engineering one of the most memorable comebacks in recent history, and starting the Bills’ season at 1-0.—
The Athletic NFL Staff,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Its development began in Japan in the late 1980s, where a seed research company spent eight years engineering a vegetable that was milder in taste than broccoli, better suited to warmer climates and more versatile in the kitchen.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Finessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finessing. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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