finagle
verb
fi·na·gle
fə-ˈnā-gəl 
finagled; finagling
fə-ˈnā-g(ə-)liŋ
1
: to obtain (something) by indirect or involved means
finagle a ride home
2
: to obtain (something) by trickery
He finagled his way into the concert.
: to use devious or dishonest methods to achieve one's ends
I have long craved a convention where someone had to wheel and deal, … maneuver and finagle, to win the crown.—
Mark Plotkin
Mark PlotkinSynonyms
Examples of finagle in a Sentence
A con man finagled my neighbor out of four hundred dollars.
let me look at my schedule and see if I can't finagle a visit to the museum
Recent Examples on the Web
But the resolution might require more than just mathematically finagling the traditional equations.
—Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2021
The slingback style is easy to put on in the mornings since there are no buttons or clasps to finagle with.
—Michelle Rostamian, Peoplemag, 22 Apr. 2024
Two months later, Ms. Arnett finagled a trip to New York to meet Ms. Upadhyaya in person.
—Tammy Lagorce, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024
Just how exactly, good-looking people finagle their way into more pay is a complex phenomenon, the result of hundreds of hard-to-measure human interactions.
—Irina Ivanova, Fortune, 3 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for finagle 
Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2021
The slingback style is easy to put on in the mornings since there are no buttons or clasps to finagle with.
—Michelle Rostamian, Peoplemag, 22 Apr. 2024
Two months later, Ms. Arnett finagled a trip to New York to meet Ms. Upadhyaya in person.
—Tammy Lagorce, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024
Just how exactly, good-looking people finagle their way into more pay is a complex phenomenon, the result of hundreds of hard-to-measure human interactions.
—Irina Ivanova, Fortune, 3 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for finagle
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'finagle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near finagle
Cite this Entry
“Finagle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/finagle. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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finagle
verb
fi·na·gle
fə-ˈnā-gəl
finagled; finagling
-g(ə-)liŋ
: to use trickery to get what one wants
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