finagle

Sometimes fe·na·gle

[fi-ney-guhl]

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.

verb (used without object)

finagled, finagling 

1. to practice deception or fraud; scheme.

finagle

/ fɪˈneɪɡəl /

verb

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

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

Other Word Forms

• finagler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of finagle¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of finagle¹

C20: probably changed from dialect fainaigue

Example Sentences

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

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“I hated being a lawyer. My parents worked as brokers at Oppenheimer securities. They managed to finagle me a job. It’s not pretty but that’s what happened.”

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The plot finagles a way to tether them to the bedroom until they get closer to being on the same page.

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Later, he finagles a physical comedy beat in which Gemma is delighted to realize she’s more like M3GAN than she thinks.

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Instead, the director, Dito Montiel, puts the focus on three clashing families finagling to ensure their loved ones survive a very violent New Year’s Eve.

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