Savoir-faire
//ˌsævwɑːˈfɛə// noun
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The ability to do or say what is appropriate for the occasion. uncountable
"Dr. Brighton-Pomfrey had the savoir-faire of a successful consultant; he prided himself on being all things to all men; but just for an instant he was at a loss what sort of thing he had to be here."
- 2 the ability to do or say what is appropriate for the occasion wordnet
Example
More examples"Dr. Brighton-Pomfrey had the savoir-faire of a successful consultant; he prided himself on being all things to all men; but just for an instant he was at a loss what sort of thing he had to be here."
Etymology
Borrowed from French savoir-faire (“know-how”), from savoir (“to know (how)”) + faire (“to do”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.