finagled

verb

past tense of finagle
1
as in negotiated
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 cheated
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 finagled And the Saints finagled a compromise with Derek Carr two offseasons ago to make his retirement fit their cap needs. — Jonathan Jones, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2026 In Europe with friends, Reed finagled his way into the Venice Film Festival in 1965 and interviewed Buster Keaton and Jean-Paul Belmondo. — Duane Byrge, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026 On Sunday, August 10, the JoBros kicked off their Jonas20 tour in New Jersey, with Nick telling the audience that after Joe landed a lead role in the Disney Channel Original Movie, their dad finagled a way for Kevin and Nick to get parts as well. — Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 11 Aug. 2025 This whole thing seems staged, planned, finagled, massaged, bamboozled, lollygagged, and all sorts of other long, silly-sounding words that may not necessarily apply to this situation. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finagled
  1. negotiated
  2. cheated
  3. arranged
  4. manipulated
  5. engineered
Verb
  • The deal was negotiated by Bressack and Matthew Helderman, CEO and co-founder of BondIt and Buffalo 8.
    — Mya Copeland, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The women negotiated a lease and arranged to meet him at his home.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of negotiated
Verb
  • As Gabe yells that Morgan cheated and broke up the family, a grin starts to spread across Nick’s and Serena’s faces.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The Dubas front office cheated for offence in a sense too, deciding to buck the trend by building from centre ice backwards and not drafting/developing top d-men.
    — James Mirtle, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of cheated
Verb
  • Detours and shortcuts in the brain The cells and synapses of the brain aren’t arranged in rigid, linear paths for each task and experience.
    — Sean Mccabe, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Desperate for actual contact with Holmes, Fielder has arranged to meet her briefly at the prison before Evans shows up.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of arranged
Verb
  • The Delhi agitation centers on allegations that voter lists were manipulated during the Special Intensive Revision exercise.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The researchers then manipulated the scenario by changing what happened after the focal bee returned to the hive and gave directions to the feeder.
    — Marta Hill, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of manipulated
Verb
  • The low-dropout regulator which converts battery voltage into a steady supply is specifically engineered to avoid adding noise.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Against one of the nation’s most talented defenses, Florida’s first-time starting quarterback calmly engineered the kind of drive that wins championships and changes seasons.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of engineered

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Cite this Entry

“Finagled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finagled. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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