Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To obtain or achieve by cleverness or deceit, especially in persuading someone.
- intransitive verb To cheat; swindle.
- intransitive verb To use clever or deceitful means to obtain or achieve something.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- verb to achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
obtain ,arrange , orachieve byindirect and usuallydeceitful methods. - verb transitive, intransitive To
cheat orswindle ; to usecrafty ,deceitful methods. (often with "out of" preceding the object)
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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It's probably best to finagle a friendship with a magician so you can forgo the food.
Laurenne Sala: The Magic Castle: Ex-Nerds With Birds Laurenne Sala 2011
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It's probably best to finagle a friendship with a magician so you can forgo the food.
Laurenne Sala: The Magic Castle: Ex-Nerds With Birds Laurenne Sala 2011
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As it turns out, I had to jump on the bus today with a large piece of iron work because it wouldn't fit in our car no matter how I tried to finagle it.
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Some consumers say they can finagle long-term extensions of special promotional rates used to attract new subscribers that normally expire after a year or two.
Customers Say to Cable Firms, 'Let's Make a Deal' Lauren A. E. Schuker 2011
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She said she intends to maintain her 6 a.m.-to-6 p.m. vigil for at least three weeks of the trial's expected five-week duration—and perhaps longer if she can finagle more vacation time from the electronics firm where she works as a marketing assistant.
Outside Trial, the Show Must Go On Ethan Smith 2011
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Meanwhile for us tourists, our savvy Egyptian guides finagle a police escort that evening across the bridge, and we walk the rest of the way to the haven of our Western hotel.
Suzanne Skees: Egypt Exploded: An American in Cairo Ponders What Our Citizens Can Do for Theirs Suzanne Skees 2011
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Nick Clegg and the Foreign Office, helped by sympathetic, economically liberal member states, may somehow finagle Britain back into the game.
Cameron and co are deluded – it's cold on Europe's margins | Timothy Garton Ash 2011
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He could always finagle his way out of the tightest corners.
Earl of Durkness Alix Rickloff 2011
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Meanwhile for us tourists, our savvy Egyptian guides finagle a police escort that evening across the bridge, and we walk the rest of the way to the haven of our Western hotel.
Suzanne Skees: Egypt Exploded: An American in Cairo Ponders What Our Citizens Can Do for Theirs Suzanne Skees 2011
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He managed to finagle quite a few beers out of the flight attendants, and the stories got better as the flight progressed.
Heroes or Villains? 2010
artistx commented on the word finagle
this is a great word. Just saying it cheers you up
April 19, 2007