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

Indeed, the internet is full of DIY hackers explaining how to finagle a frunk unofficially.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 7, 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

“Sometimes, if I write it out, I use dollar signs and an exclamation point for the I. There are things you have to finagle to make it work.”

From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2021

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

“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

But those blowouts in San Francisco validated just how impressive it is that the Nuggets, without a true, contender-worthy second or third scoring option, finagled a 48-34 record this season using Jokic and mirrors.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2022

“Then I found out. Mother finagled the governor to appoint me to the Council of Defense. The draft board said that could be my service.”

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

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

While the film takes a clever yet light bit of finagling to find online, it’s worth the search: “A Diva’s Christmas Carol” is a life-altering, life-affirming event movie to rival even the best Dickens alteration.

From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025

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

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

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman