Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [fi-ness]
- /fɪˈnɛss/
- /fɪˈnes/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [fi-ness]
- /fɪˈnɛss/
Definitions of finesse word
- noun finesse extreme delicacy or subtlety in action, performance, skill, discrimination, taste, etc. 1
- noun finesse skill in handling a difficult or highly sensitive situation; adroit and artful management: exceptional diplomatic finesse. 1
- noun finesse a trick, artifice, or stratagem. 1
- noun finesse 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. 1
- verb without object finesse to use finesse or artifice. 1
- verb without object finesse to make a finesse at cards. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of finesse
First appearance:
before 1400 One of the 24% oldest English words
1400-50; late Middle English: degree of excellence or purity < Middle French < Vulgar Latin *fīnitia. See fine1, -ice
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Finesse
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
finesse popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 84% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
finesse usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for finesse
verb finesse
- play — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- jockey — a person who rides horses professionally in races.
- angle — An angle is the difference in direction between two lines or surfaces. Angles are measured in degrees.
- wangle — to bring about, accomplish, or obtain by scheming or underhand methods: to wangle an invitation.
- bluff — A bluff is an attempt to make someone believe that you will do something when you do not really intend to do it.
noun finesse
- skill — the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well: Carpentry was one of his many skills.
- flair — a natural talent, aptitude, or ability; bent; knack: a flair for rhyming.
- grace — William Russell, 1832–1904, U.S. financier and shipping magnate, born in Ireland: mayor of New York City 1880–88.
- elegance — The quality of being graceful and stylish in appearance or manner; style.
- poise — a centimeter-gram-second unit of viscosity, equal to the viscosity of a fluid in which a stress of one dyne per square centimeter is required to maintain a difference of velocity of one centimeter per second between two parallel planes in the fluid that lie in the direction of flow and are separated by a distance of one centimeter. Symbol: P.
Antonyms for finesse
verb finesse
noun finesse
- clumsiness — awkward in movement or action; without skill or grace: He is very clumsy and is always breaking things.
- tactlessness — lacking tact; showing no tact; undiplomatic; offendingly blunt: a tactless remark.
- ignorance — the state or fact of being ignorant; lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc.
- inability — lack of ability; lack of power, capacity, or means: his inability to make decisions.
- incapability — not capable.
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See also
Matching words
- Words starting with f
- Words starting with fi
- Words starting with fin
- Words starting with fine
- Words starting with fines
- Words starting with finess
- Words starting with finesse