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
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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
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Recent Examples of finessed
Repossi finessed the rose gold used in its latest spiraling Blast high jewelry pieces, playing up its yellow gleam under a gradient of orange gemstones.
—
Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 20 Feb. 2026
The director also finessed Hollywood.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 5 Dec. 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
Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 20 Feb. 2026
The director also finessed Hollywood.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 5 Dec. 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
-
Verve Talent and Literary Agency’s Amy Beecroft negotiated the deal on behalf of Hideout with Vertical’s Tony Piantedosion.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2026
-
As someone whose boundaries could be negotiated away.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Petty crime, like pickpocketing and phone theft, is more common in Paris and can be easily avoided.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Crown and root rots are easily avoided through proper plant siting to ensure adequate soil drainage.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
To overcome these challenges, the researchers engineered a dedicated flight control board centered on an industrial-grade chip and integrated a dual inertial measurement unit system.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Head coach Dusty May has engineered a remarkable turnaround for the Wolverines.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Twin direct hits in southern Israel over the weekend injured at least 180 people, while an additional series of direct strikes — missiles that evaded interceptors — in central Tel Aviv earlier this week injured fewer than 10, according to health officials.—
Rebecca Shabad,
NBC news,
26 Mar. 2026
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Investigators believe Nunez evaded law enforcement by obtaining false identification documents and fleeing the country.—
Jack Perry,
The Providence Journal,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The examples provided in the letter of events that could be easily manipulated by a single person included whether a kicker would miss a field goal, a quarterback’s first pass being incomplete or a receiver missing their first target.—
Jessica Golden,
CNBC,
30 Mar. 2026
-
All the components of Ursa’s dishes are foraged or harvested in the desert and manipulated in surprising and experimental ways.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
In one instance, a detainee escaped when there was no staff assigned to watch the perimeter fences.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Vivian smooths any potential strands that may have escaped from her low bun and then brushes up the steep stone steps to the front door.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Private museum tours, sandal-making workshops, and boat trips to the nearby islands of Aegina and Kea (where another One&Only opens in 2024) can be arranged.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The Uncollected Letters of Virginia Woolf, weighing in at a thousand pages and containing over 1,400 letters (additions to the 3,766 letters that were published in six volumes, edited by Nigel Nicolson and Joanne Trautmann, between 1975 and 1980), is arranged alphabetically by correspondent.—
Hermione Lee,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
It’s familiarly plotted, sure, but efficiently acted.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Hodges plotted an aggressive offseason program for the two to take significant steps to playing with more confidence and understanding in 2026.—
Paul Dehner Jr,
New York Times,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Finessed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finessed. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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