What does "finesse" mean?
Skill in the handling or manipulation of a situation.
Finesse
/fɪˈnɛs/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Skill in the handling or manipulation of a situation.
- Grammar: finesse is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: delicacy, diplomacy, ability, acquired taste.
- Useful contrasts: botch, bungle, candor.
- Usage evidence: He did it with the finesse we've come to expect from Tom.
How to use "finesse"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "finesse" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "finesse" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "finesse" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "finesse" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "delicacy" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "finesse", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Skill in the handling or manipulation of a situation. uncountable
"It is not impossible that this bold attempt to wrest from this State and Nation, so large and important a frontier territory; with the insidious arts, and unblushing finesse and chicanery, with which the British pretensions have been managed, may yet awaken the American people from their apathy on the subject— […]"
- 2 subtly skillful handling of a situation wordnet
- 3 The property of having elegance, grace, refinement, or skill. uncountable
"An Indian known by the name of Silver Heels, from his superior agility, as well as his admirable finesse in the art of war, and who had killed more of the enemy than any one of the tribes in alliance with Great Britain, accidentally came into the fort just before the soldier was to receive his punishment, and expressed his displeasure that a man should be so shamefully disgraced."
- 4 An adroit manoeuvre. countable
"The first inroads on our laws of incest were made at the instigation, and by the secret management, of some of our "prime nobles," who had either seduced, or married, or pledged themselves to marry a wife's sister; and who wished by this finesse, to escape, at once, public odium and personal responsibility; […]"
- 5 In bridge, whist, etc.: a technique which allows one to win a trick, usually by playing a card when it is thought that a card that can beat it is held by another player whose turn is over. countable
"The Finesse Proper.—When, upon the invite of your partner, you refuse to force with your strongest card, or one of equal strength, you are in the case of the finesse proper. Holding the ace, queen, and ten, and taking with the queen, is a simple finesse; that is, a finesse to the king."
Verb
- 1 To evade (a problem, situation, etc.) by using some clever argument or stratagem. Canada, US, transitive
"It is said that democratic institutions necessarily lead to political corruption. I can only say that it has not been so in this Colony. Members have schemed, finessed, log-rolled, to serve their districts, but never to put money in their own pockets."
- 2 To evade (a problem, situation, etc.) by using some clever argument or stratagem.; To handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to manipulate in a crafty way. Canada, US, ambitransitive, transitive
"Distressed as she was, she rose the next morning determined to contend with her feelings,—to think no more of Trevor,—and to finesse no more for a husband—she had had enough of it."
- 3 To evade (a problem, situation, etc.) by using some clever argument or stratagem.; To obtain something from someone through trickery or manipulation. Canada, US, slang, transitive
"I was tryin'a finesse you outta them drawers, and you finessed a nigga out his heart," he said with a chuckle, "But that's cool. 'Cause I know it's in good hands.""
- 4 To attempt to win a trick by finessing. intransitive
"In the first round of a suit, you should generally, / 8. PLAY YOUR HIGHEST CARD THIRD HAND. / a. In order to strengthen your partner. You presume that he leads from his strong suit, and wants to get the winning cards of it out of his way[…]; you, therefore, do not finesse[…], but play your highest, remembering that you play the lowest of a sequence[…]. With ace, queen (and, of course, ace, queen, knave, &c., in sequence) you do finesse, for, in this case, if the king is in the fourth hand, it must make, unless single, which is very improbable; and by putting on the ace, you make the king good, if against you."
- 5 To play (a card) as a finesse. transitive
"The ace is certainly to your left, you therefore finesse the ten, for if your left-hand adversary holds ace and knave he must make them both; but otherwise, your ten forces the ace, and you are left with the best."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To play a ball out of the way of an opponent. intransitive, obsolete
"Blue finesses to the further boundary, intending to come to his partner next time with black, hoping that if yellow comes after these balls, he may pass the boundary and so lose the break. […] Black has now to play; he finesses to another boundary."
Antonyms
Example
"He did it with the finesse we've come to expect from Tom."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "finesse"?
Common synonyms include: delicacy, diplomacy, ability, acquired taste, acuteness, address.
How do you use "finesse" in a sentence?
He did it with the finesse we've come to expect from Tom.
How do you pronounce "finesse"?
Pronounced /fɪˈnɛs/.
Etymology
From Middle English finesse (“degree of excellence; (of metal) fineness, purity”), from Middle French finesse, Old French finesse (“fineness; delicacy; slenderness”), from fine, fin (“fine, thin”) (from Latin fīnis (“end”); compare Middle English fīn (“of superior quality; precious, valuable; admirable, pleasing; pure, refined; fineness, purity; delicate, exquisite, fine; sharp, thin”)) + -esse (suffix forming nouns describing the condition of being something). The verb is derived from the noun.