nuance

[noo-ahns, nyoo-, noo-ahns, nyoo-, ny-ahns]

noun

plural

nuances 

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.

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

/ njuːˈɑːns, ˈnjuːɑːns /

noun

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

verb

1. to give subtle differences to

   carefully nuanced words

nuance

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

Other Word Forms

• nuanced adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nuance¹

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; -ance

Word History and Origins

Origin of nuance¹

C18: from French, from nuer to show light and shade, ultimately from Latin nūbēs a cloud

Example Sentences

Using archaeological evidence, Mr. Rees aims to present a nuanced view of what life was like both along and beyond the borders of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.

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“Your build needs to be more nuanced, and you need to evaluate players in a much different way.”

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That’s also a much more nuanced consideration than it used to be.

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Yet the calculations are capped at a difference of 400 rating points—a nuance that played right into Nakamura’s hands when his opponents in these tournaments were sometimes far more than 400 points beneath him.

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Four years later, at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, all nuance was gone; the version of Jefferson on display became a denigrating demonstration of hypocrisy.

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Related Words

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