wangle

UK: /ˈwæŋg^əl/ US: /ˈwæŋgəl/ ,(wang′gəl)

Inflections of 'wangle' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

wangles

v 3rd person singular

wangling

v pres p

wangled

v past

wangled

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

wan•gle /ˈwæŋgəl/   v. [~ + object] , -gled, -gling. 

1. to bring about, get, or obtain by devious means:
   He wangled a free ticket.

wan•gler, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

wan•gle  (wang′gəl), v., -gled, -gling, n. 
v.t. 

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.

v.i. 

3. to use contrivance, scheming, or underhand methods to obtain some goal or result.
4. to manipulate something for dishonest ends.

n. 

5. an act or instance of wangling.

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

wan′gler, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. . maneuver, finagle, engineer, wheedle.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

wangle / ˈwæŋɡ^əl/ verb

1. (transitive) 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

Etymology: 19th Century: originally printers' slang, perhaps a blend of waggle and dialect wankle wavering, from Old English wancol; compare Old High German wankōn to waver

ˈwangler noun