nuance

American  

[noo-ahns, nyoo-, noo-ahns, nyoo-, ny-ahns] / ˈnu ɑns, ˈnju-, nuˈɑns, nju-, nüˈɑ̃s /

noun

• nuances
  plural

1. 

   a subtle difference or distinction in expression, meaning, response, etc.

   Synonyms:

   refinement, nicety, subtlety, shading, shade

2. a very slight difference or variation in color or tone.

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verb (used with object)

nuanced, nuancing

1. to give nuance to; to color.

   She carefully nuanced her words, to put a positive spin on the situation.

nuance British  

/ njuːˈɑːns, ˈnjuːɑːns /

noun

1. a subtle difference in colour, meaning, tone, etc; a shade or graduation

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verb

1. to give subtle differences to

   carefully nuanced words

nuance Cultural  

1. A fine shade of meaning: “I liked the film, but I know I missed some of its nuances.”

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nuanced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• nuances
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of nuance

First recorded in 1775–85; from French: “shade, hue,” equivalent to nu(er) “to shade” (literally, “to cloud”), from unattested Vulgar Latin nūbāre, derivative of unattested nūba, for Latin nūbēs “cloud”) + -ance noun suffix; see -ance

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Explanation

Use nuance to refer to a very small difference in color, meaning, or feeling. What makes singers brilliant is not how loud they can sing a note, but how many nuances they can evoke through their approach. Pronounced "NOO-ahns," this noun was borrowed from French in the 18th century and derives ultimately from Latin nūbēs "a cloud." Think of clouds––subtle gradations in color to understand this word. When you say a work of art was nuanced, it means there was a lot to it, but incorporated subtly.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nuance nuances nuanced nuancing

The team swept the Dodgers with a strategy that prioritized wearing down pitchers over hitting home runs, a nuance that Foenem doesn’t exactly capture in his lyrics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Well, we got to nuance, John, which I think is only possible in a real conversation.

From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026

“People reveal who they are over the five episodes. There’s an extraordinary amount of nuance, but if somebody’s saying something stupid, we have that too.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

The other nuance is, that success cannot have come too recently.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

I looked out at the world around me and no longer saw nuance.

From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi

Critics of the opening of the files emphasise this point - that people will be too quick to judge those they find in the files, and unwilling to understand the nuances.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

While the chart below seems to show that RSI has formed a classic triple-top reversal, there are nuances that may need clarification.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

Euripides’ portrayal of Medea as a child-killing figure of fury has obscured the nuances of a more complicated mythological story.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

On stage you get to hear more nuances — on “Weekend Update” it’s a short segment, and I’m splitting time with Colin and guests.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

“I taught her that particular trick. I do not think she understood the nuances of it, but it appears she performed fine regardless. Do you feel unsteady at all?”

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

The picture for those on fixed deals is more nuanced.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

There are songs of nuanced but pronounced faith.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

But when you dig into the scientific research, the findings are more nuanced.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

"Understanding those connections gives us a more nuanced perspective on our own planet's future and what we might look for on other planets."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

More nuanced and more revealing is Wills’s other remark—that “Everett’s classicism was as much the forerunner of Lincoln’s talk as its foil or contrast.”

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Instead, “Concentrate” shines when Taylor focuses on her archive and relates it to her own embodied experiences, nuancing the participants’ identities and humanities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2022

If you want to stay with this guy, you’re probably going to need to work on broadening and nuancing your framing.

From Slate ● Dec. 4, 2019

He conceded that he had done “a poor job of nuancing what I was trying to get at.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 16, 2017

There will remain debates about the details of implementation and the nuancing and emphasis and the language and so on.

From Forbes ● Aug. 20, 2014

Another instance of the sacrifice of highly useful forms to this impatience of nuancing is the group whence, whither, hence, hither, thence, thither.

From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Edward Sapir

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Related Words

• distinction
• gradation
• hint
• implication
• nicety
• refinement
• subtlety

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