finagling

verb

present participle of finagle
1
as in negotiating
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care let me look at my schedule and see if I can't finagle a visit to the museum

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cheating
to use dishonest methods to achieve a goal she'll finagle until she gets exactly what she wants

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of finagling Try finagling these parts out, or read the manual for your model to see if this is an option. — Natalia Gonzalez Blanco Serrano, The Spruce, 11 May 2026 That's a reasonable take, but getting to the point of expanding the postseason once again is going to take some finagling at this time. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026 Other songs are less terminally online and more reminiscent of finagling fake IDs and getting blitzed on the LES. — Lydia Wei, Pitchfork, 20 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finagling
  1. negotiating
  2. cheating
  3. manipulating
  4. arranging
  5. maneuvering
  6. engineering
  7. plotting
Verb
  • Technical knowledge can be taught and examined but the skills Freebairn values most, such as influencing, persuading, and negotiating, cannot.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The administration may be negotiating even more stakes under the radar, since SEC filings for unrelated deals mention the possibility of warrants.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of negotiating
Verb
  • With all respect to West’s previous cheating-on-television canon, War might be his finest adulterous work.
    — Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Wood was vindicated three years later, when a league investigation revealed the Astros had been cheating in 2017, stealing signs from a television monitor next to the dugout and relaying them to batters by banging on trash cans.
    — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of cheating
Verb
  • This gave the team control over the motor’s movement without physically manipulating it.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The 18-year-old is suspected of manipulating an Indiana teen over a social platform into harming herself and taking her own life, according to prosecutors in Germany.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of manipulating
Verb
  • One of our all-time favorite experiences was arranging a private, behind-the-scenes tour of Blenheim Palace, led by none other than the Duke of Marlborough himself.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Miranda Orozco, 50, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after admitting to arranging travel and accommodations for two people who died and another who was seriously injured.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of arranging
Verb
  • This massive blunder — and the behind-the-scenes maneuvering to resolve it — was a group effort.
    — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Fuel is for maneuvering A satellite does not need an engine running continuously to stay in orbit.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of maneuvering
Verb
  • The effort has generated interest from more than 800 students, which covers everything from science to engineering to business to marketing.
    — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026
  • As Gruden sees it, the NFL and Goodell are to blame for allegedly engineering a controversy around emails Gruden wrote—a controversy that imperiled his ability to meet the duties of his Raiders employment contract.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of engineering
Verb
  • Two teenage girls spent months plotting a mass shooting in Riverside County, officials say.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The distinction matters because operating an unmanned vessel requires more than plotting a route.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of plotting

Browse Nearby Words

finagles
finagling
final
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Cite this Entry

“Finagling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagling. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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