finesse
Americannoun
-
finesses
plural
-
extreme delicacy or subtlety in action, performance, skill, discrimination, taste, etc.
- Synonyms:
- sensibility, sensitivity, circumspection, diplomacy, tact
-
skill in handling a difficult or highly sensitive situation; adroit and artful management.
exceptional diplomatic finesse.
- Synonyms:
- sensibility, sensitivity, circumspection, diplomacy, tact
-
a trick, artifice, or stratagem.
-
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)
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finesses,
present (3rd person singular)
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finessed,
past participle, past
-
finessing
present participle
-
to use finesse or artifice.
-
to make a finesse at cards.
verb (used with object)
-
finesses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
finessed,
past participle, past
-
finessing
present participle
-
to bring about by finesse or artifice.
-
to avoid; circumvent.
-
to make a finesse with (a card).
-
to force the playing of (a card) by a finesse.
noun
-
elegant skill in style or performance
-
subtlety and tact in handling difficult situations
-
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
-
a trick, artifice, or strategy
verb
-
to manage or bring about with finesse
-
to play (a card) as a finesse
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
finessesimple
-
finessessimple
-
have finessedperfect
-
has finessedperfect
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am finessingprogressive
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are finessingprogressive
-
is finessingprogressive
-
have been finessingperfect progressive
-
has been finessingperfect progressive
Past
-
finessedsimple
-
had finessedperfect
-
was finessingprogressive
-
were finessingprogressive
-
had been finessingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of finesse
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English: “degree of excellence or purity,” from Middle French, from fin fine 1 + -esse -ice
Explanation
Having finesse means you can handle difficult situations with diplomacy and tact, like the finesse it takes to help two friends work out their differences — without taking sides or alienating either one. Finesse is having grace under pressure. It's handling the rantings of an angry customer with a smile and a calm tone. Someone who has finesse says the right thing at the right time — or knows when to say nothing at all. Finesse looks like fineness and in fact comes from the Middle French word that means exactly that — delicate in nature. People with finesse can handle anything — with a delicate approach that really works.
Vocabulary lists containing finesse
Trumps
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This Week in Pop Culture: February 2 - 8, 2019
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Jackson is a quiet star who doesn’t deploy a gossipy agent to finesse reporters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Muharemovic is aerially dominant in both boxes, while there is a finesse to his technical skills, too, as shown by a backheeled assist to Dominic Calvert-Lewin for a goal against Newcastle.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Much work remains to be done to finesse the conclusions, and a paper outlining the results is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
Nebbiolo, a grape grown mainly in southern Piedmont’s Langhe region, combines the finesse and complexity of Pinot Noir with the power and tannins of Cabernet Sauvignon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
In one way, fishing these creeks required finesse; in another way there was nothing even remotely connected to the fine art of trout fishing about this angling process.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Soft and supple, it finesses the line between elegance and heft.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2021
Black bass are good on spinners, crankbaits, and green pumpkin finesses plastic worms in 12-18’ fishing deeper docks, main lake points with near timber, drop-offs, and points.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 4, 2020
Grant attempts two tricky maneuvers with “Harpoon” and, for the most part, finesses them both.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2019
How Ms. Merkel finesses coming challenges, like Turkey, “we’ll have to see.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 16, 2015
Hoagland would say that now was the time for playing certain finesses, that in the wake of the activity arose those moments that could be manipulated.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Berkshire does own about $60 billion of Apple stock, but that issue likely could be finessed to get Cook.
From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026
But Rutte appears to have finessed an issue that had threatened to shatter the north Atlantic alliance.
From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026
Perennially quotable, ad-libbed to Brit-accented perfection by co-creators Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer and finessed into an iconic spoof by director Rob Reiner, “Spinal Tap” was born.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2025
It’s a mammalian innovation, honed and finessed in the latter stages of the Mesozoic era, the so-called Age of Reptiles.
From Slate ● Sep. 7, 2024
UC Berkeley’s medical school would not get over its disdain for John’s studies for years, until the situation was finessed by the creation of a separate laboratory for radiation science in 1942.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Your idea is pretty special, but perhaps needs a little finessing.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
And there are some feelings about this show’s return that no amount of script finessing can alter.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026
They’ve tested concepts on stage that haven’t worked; sometimes comedians themselves have realized their act needs more finessing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2025
With enough time and imagination, kickers and equipment managers are capable of finessing footballs in ways that make them soar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
"Ingenious!" said Mr. Pleydell, "but I think desperate—they are finessing too much; a common fault on such occasions."
From Guy Mannering by Sir Walter Scott
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
