finagle
Americanverb (used with object)
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to trick, swindle, or cheat (a person) (often followed byout of ).
He finagled the backers out of a fortune.
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to get or achieve (something) by guile, trickery, or manipulation.
to finagle an assignment to the Membership Committee.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to get or achieve by trickery, craftiness, or persuasion; wangle
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to use trickery or craftiness on (a person)
Other Word Forms
- finagler noun
Etymology
Origin of finagle
An Americanism first recorded in 1925–30; finaig- (variant of fainaigue ) + -le
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Precious about his loss, yet glib about other people’s, he has the charismatic narcissist’s ability to finagle subservience.
From New York Times • Feb. 16, 2023
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
He figured he could become a military correspondent and finagle his way into broadcast to gain experience behind the camera and eventually move into film.
From Washington Post • Jun. 27, 2022
They spent what remained of their honeymoon on deck, learning how to finagle their way through Ellis Island.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
