nuance
[ noo-ahns, nyoo-, noo-ahns, nyoo-; French ny-ahns ]
/ ˈnu ɑns, ˈnyu-, nuˈɑns, nyu-; French nüˈɑ̃s /
noun, plural nu·anc·es [noo-ahn-siz, nyoo-, noo-ahn-siz, nyoo-; French ny-ahns] /ˈnu ɑn sɪz, ˈnyu-, nuˈɑn sɪz, nyu-; French nüˈɑ̃s/.
a subtle difference or distinction in expression, meaning, response, etc.
a very slight difference or variation in color or tone.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
hint, subtlety, gradation, nicety, refinement, distinction, implication, degree, shade, trace, dash, suspicion, suggestion, touch, shadow, tinge
Nearby words
Origin of nuance
1775–85; < French: shade, hue, equivalent to nu(er) to shade (literally, to cloud < Vulgar Latin *nūbāre, derivative of *nūba, for Latin nūbēs cloud) + -ance -ance
SYNONYMS FOR nuance
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for nuance
nuance
/ (njuːˈɑːns, ˈnjuːɑːns) /
noun
a subtle difference in colour, meaning, tone, etc; a shade or graduation
verb (tr; passive)
to give subtle differences tocarefully nuanced words
Word Origin for nuance
C18: from French, from nuer to show light and shade, ultimately from Latin nūbēs a cloud
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
nuance
[ (nooh-ahns) ]
A fine shade of meaning: “I liked the film, but I know I missed some of its nuances.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.