finagle

American  

[fi-ney-guhl] / fɪˈneɪ gəl /

Sometimes fenagle

verb (used with object)

finagled, finagling

1. to trick, swindle, or cheat (a person) (often followed byout of ).

   He finagled the backers out of a fortune.

2. to get or achieve (something) by guile, trickery, or manipulation.

   to finagle an assignment to the Membership Committee.

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verb (used without object)

finagled, finagling

1. to practice deception or fraud; scheme.

finagle British  

/ fɪˈneɪɡəl /

verb

1. (tr) to get or achieve by trickery, craftiness, or persuasion; wangle

2. to use trickery or craftiness on (a person)

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Other Word Forms

• finagler
  noun

Etymology

Origin of finagle

An Americanism first recorded in 1925–30; finaig- (variant of fainaigue ) + -le

Explanation

When you finagle, you get out of something using devious methods, like when you pretend you're sick to avoid taking a pop quiz. Finagle is a word with a usually negative connotation, as it means to get something by being dishonest or tricking someone. To get a student discount from a bookstore by pretending you're a student is to finagle the store clerk. Finagle might also mean to get your way by being clever, as when you convince your sister that what she really wants for her birthday is that video game you've been dreaming of for months.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

finagle finagled finagling

And if he was moving across the Atlantic, he figured he might as well finagle his way onto one of the country’s televised quiz shows.

From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2024

Francisco-Juan claimed to be the 10-year-old’s father and had managed to finagle her mother into putting his name on her birth certificate, manufacturing bogus proof of the relationship.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 21, 2022

According to the documents, Ramos “was able to finagle his way” into McClurg’s residence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2022

Premium cabins typically aren’t cheap if you’re paying a cash fare, but you might be able to finagle your way to an upgrade.

From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2022

The conference had filled up months earlier, but Jesse managed to finagle his way in over the phone.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

“Somehow, he had finagled the thing from the military.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026

He had finagled some blank report cards and used them to bring home self-inserted high marks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 23, 2025

He finagled it so that he ran the leg that passed right in front of his and my friend’s house on Monroe Drive.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2024

Crimmins finagled an introduction to a congressperson who was able to help him expedite the Agriculture Department approval process to get the frog into the country.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 30, 2022

Well, that combined with their kindness/goodness/purity of heart and garnished with my certitude that this glorious triad I somehow finagled my way into is definitely, definitely temporary.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

Hummel is one of the few who relish diagnosing their problems, taking them apart and finagling them in and out of trucks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026

But she has an ulterior motive in shrewdly finagling her way into a job at an esteemed Chicago law firm, which is revealed by the end of the hour and sets the season in motion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2024

It took some finagling to get on the lists—the spots were reserved for clients, customers, and dealers willing to fork over their contact info and sit through a sales pitch—but I had a dealer’s credential.

From Slate ● May 30, 2023

An acquiring team, of course, could look to restructure that contract, and Seattle might have to do some finagling with that deal if it wanted to acquire Watson and do much else in the offseason.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 11, 2022

After finagling ourselves out of a visit to the principal’s office, we limped home.

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman