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View synonyms for

finesse

[fi-ness]

noun

  1. extreme delicacy or subtlety in action, performance, skill, discrimination, taste, etc.

    Synonyms: , , , ,
  2. skill in handling a difficult or highly sensitive situation; adroit and artful management.

    exceptional diplomatic finesse.

    Synonyms: , , , ,
  3. a trick, artifice, or stratagem.

  4. Bridge, Whist.an attempt to win a trick with a card while holding a higher card not in sequence with it, in the hope that the card or cards between will not be played.



verb (used without object)

finessed, finessing 
  1. to use finesse or artifice.

  2. to make a finesse at cards.

verb (used with object)

finessed, finessing 
  1. to bring about by finesse or artifice.

  2. to avoid; circumvent.

  3. to make a finesse with (a card).

  4. to force the playing of (a card) by a finesse.

finesse

/ ɪˈɛ /

noun

  1. elegant skill in style or performance

  2. subtlety and tact in handling difficult situations

  3. bridge whist an attempt to win a trick when opponents hold a high card in the suit led by playing a lower card, hoping the opponent who has already played holds the missing card

  4. a trick, artifice, or strategy

“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

verb

  1. to manage or bring about with finesse

  2. to play (a card) as a finesse

“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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of finesse1

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English: “degree of excellence or purity,” from Middle French, from fin fine 1 + -esse -ice
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Word History and Origins

Origin of finesse1

C15: from Old French, from fin fine, delicate; see fine 1
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

No amount of on-paper perfection can match the cool finesse of an ex you never really got over.

From

She commands the stage with rhetorical finesse, making it all the more disappointing that her character isn’t more complexly deployed by O’Hara.

From

their dish lacked in finesse, it offered in potential: a reminder that hollandaise, for all its French culinary pedigree, is more of a canvas than a mandate.

From

A flurry of changes brought about some fight and finesse, but as Scotland shot-stopper and player of the match Lee Gibson said post-match it was, again, "too little, too late".

From

It's possible that they'll finesse their way out of it somehow.

From

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finespunfinest