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
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
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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Ukraine is currently negotiating with its international partners to increase natural gas imports by about 30% as the winter approaches, according to energy minister Svitlana Grynchuk.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
12 Oct. 2025
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The partnership was built to oversee all of La Liga’s commercial and development activity in the region, as well as negotiating media rights on their behalf.—
Asli Pelit,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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On Translation Eli Rallo writes about avoiding the OB-GYN, OCD obsessions, and pretending to be okay.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Oct. 2025
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My priority is to keep Forest Hills financially strong and efficient by managing resources wisely and avoiding unnecessary spending.—
Grace Tucker,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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There is immense interest in manipulating these phase transformations and retaining superior electro-optic properties down to liquid helium temperature, according to the study published in Advanced Materials.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Oct. 2025
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Basically, this discovery could inform future therapeutic strategies aimed at manipulating the gut microbiome for human health.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The report concluded that mirror cells could become a reality in the next 10 to 30 years and detailed the potentially devasting consequences if mirror bacteria were released into an environment and spread, evading natural biological controls and acting as dangerous pathogens.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
17 Oct. 2025
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The film follows a Cuban socialite, an English schoolteacher, and an Irish Catholic priest in Miami who spearhead a daring operation to help more than 14,000 children escape communist indoctrination and begin new lives in America — evading Castro’s secret police at every turn.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Except for those limitations, the Army is arranging to return those eligible for demobilization as quickly as possible.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Oct. 2025
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Three years at the symphony Starting on his first day, July 27, 2020, Jones’ responsibilities included assigning parts to musicians, managing instruments, arranging production with stage crews and leading the percussion section’s performance.—
Matti Gellman,
Kansas City Star,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Los Angeles took Game 1 last night after escaping a bases loaded jam in the 9th inning.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
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Authorities added that the suspect also attempted to stab a fourth person before escaping.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Others, like Ghiath Dalla, a brigadier general whose forces were involved in violent repression of protests, is among several former officers plotting sabotage from Lebanon, according to ex-military commanders, who also shared text message exchanges with The Times.—
Danny Makki,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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The president revoked Bolton’s Secret Service detail earlier this year, even as Iranian operatives remained under an indictment for plotting to assassinate him.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Meta reinstated a three‑day requirement in September 2023 with enforcement up to performance hits or termination for noncompliance, citing internal data that in‑person work boosts engineering outcomes and keeping exceptions for originally remote hires.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
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The design is claimed to demonstrate that Europe’s industry has the capabilities needed to move from vision to engineering reality.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Finessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finessing. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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