1
as in negotiated
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care
had to finesse the schedule a bit to fit in another patient that afternoon
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in avoided
to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery
tried to finesse the blame for the foreign policy fiasco, even though he was secretary of state at the time
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of finessed
The director also finessed Hollywood.
—
Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 5 Dec. 2025
The designer’s collaboration with Sanderson isn’t the first time Deacon has finessed British style sensibility.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 26 Nov. 2025
Back in Miami, Winter finessed his preparation with former Duncan Ensemble dancer Ivette Sotomayor.
—Guillermo Perez, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
Cruz finessed his way into not allowing a Red Sox runner to cross the plate, keeping the score tied.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2025
Man Ray is one of the few Dada-Surrealist cusp figures who finessed affiliations with both movements without alienating either one.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2025
In the other, a talented pitcher in a true breakout year overpowered some hitters and, against others, finessed his way out of pressure spots with men on base.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
The state finessed that by assuming his car was repaired after the robbery.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2025
Language was finessed in other ways, too.
—Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025
Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 5 Dec. 2025
The designer’s collaboration with Sanderson isn’t the first time Deacon has finessed British style sensibility.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 26 Nov. 2025
Back in Miami, Winter finessed his preparation with former Duncan Ensemble dancer Ivette Sotomayor.
—Guillermo Perez, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
Cruz finessed his way into not allowing a Red Sox runner to cross the plate, keeping the score tied.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2025
Man Ray is one of the few Dada-Surrealist cusp figures who finessed affiliations with both movements without alienating either one.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2025
In the other, a talented pitcher in a true breakout year overpowered some hitters and, against others, finessed his way out of pressure spots with men on base.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
The state finessed that by assuming his car was repaired after the robbery.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2025
Language was finessed in other ways, too.
—Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finessed
Verb
-
The deal was negotiated by Jarowey and SVP of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi on behalf of Vertical and by Anant Tamirisa for AGC International, which is handling worldwide sales for the film.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The deal was negotiated by Greenwich’s Jasper Basch with Cinetic’s Zach Magid representing the filmmakers.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
While touring with Reba McEntire, Finney narrowly avoided a 1991 plane crash that killed eight band members of her band.—
Assistant Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Most critics avoided taking a definitive stance on the RIFL Act itself, with some expressing neutrality in the debate.—
Joseph States,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
At its core is a full suspension aluminum frame engineered for real off-road dominance.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Future Present Past was engineered by Jonathan Schenke and mixed by Andrew Lappin.—
Walden Green,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Surprisingly, among the more than 1,000 recipes published in the past 25 years of columns and cookbooks, a true, crisp and delicious almond cookie recipe had evaded me until now.—
Philip Potempa,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
-
After the fall of Tripoli, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi evaded capture for several months before being detained in November 2011 by a militia in the western Libyan city of Zintan.—
Nic Robertson,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Last year, many were convinced American politics would be destabilized by videos manipulated by artificial intelligence, or lulled into a post-truth stupor by AI slop.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
-
What’s interesting is the NBA has moved away from some events that either have become stale or manipulated, such as the skills competition giving way at next week’s All-Star Weekend.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
That season’s squad, which had gone to the NIT three straight years, escaped the non-conference schedule with a record of 9-2.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The rescue came about after Jordan Turpin — who was 17 at the time — escaped from the home and told authorities about their captivity and abuse.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Alberdi is the rare filmmaker to enter the Berlinale with distribution for her film already arranged.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The two feel fortunate their national Olympic committees arranged for them to bunk together at Cortina's Olympic village, since typically only teammates share housing.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The regular season couldn’t have been plotted any better for these two from an anticipation standpoint, set to near the end as the top teams in the MIAA Div.—
Tom Mulherin,
Boston Herald,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Michael Sheridan was beaten, stabbed, shot At some point, the brothers plotted to rob the other man, investigators said.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Finessed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finessed. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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