wangle

[ wang-guhl ]
See synonyms for wangle on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),wan·gled, wan·gling.
  1. to bring about, accomplish, or obtain by scheming or underhand methods: to wangle an invitation.

  2. to falsify or manipulate for dishonest ends: to wangle business records.

verb (used without object),wan·gled, wan·gling.
  1. to use contrivance, scheming, or underhand methods to obtain some goal or result.

  2. to manipulate something for dishonest ends.

noun
  1. an act or instance of wangling.

Origin of wangle

1
1810–20; blend of wag (the tongue) and dangle (about someone, i.e., hang around someone, court someone's favor)

Other words for wangle

Other words from wangle

  • wangler, noun

Words that may be confused with wangle

Words Nearby wangle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wangle in a sentence

  • Other secretaries had used their nearness to him to wangle acting or dancing or singing assignments on other and lesser shows.

    Operation: Outer Space | William Fitzgerald Jenkins
  • wangle; the handful of straw a thatcher grasps in his left hand from time to time while thatching, twisted up tight at one end.

  • I had a specially bad one, and managed with great skill to wangle a fortnight's sick leave in Paris.

    Fanny Goes to War | Pat Beauchamp
  • And the old Cats said, "Be particularly careful not to meddle with a clangle-wangle if you should see one."

    Nonsense Books | Edward Lear
  • But you've not managed badly to wangle a 'second', have you, Snowy and Daddles?

    Loyal to the School | Angela Brazil

British Dictionary definitions for wangle

wangle

/ (ˈwæŋɡəl) informal /


verb
  1. (tr) to use devious or illicit methods to get or achieve (something) for (oneself or another): he wangled himself a salary increase

  2. to manipulate or falsify (a situation, action, etc)

noun
  1. the act or an instance of wangling

Origin of wangle

1
C19: originally printers' slang, perhaps a blend of waggle and dialect wankle wavering, from Old English wancol; compare Old High German wankōn to waver

Derived forms of wangle

  • wangler, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012