nuanced
Americanadjective
-
expressing or involving subtle distinctions.
Their opinions are always nuanced and informing.
Life is wonderfully nuanced, textured, complicated, beautiful, and rich.
-
characterized by slight difference or variation in color, tone, flavor, etc.
Dawn and dusk imposed softer, darker shades of nuanced, shadowed light.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nuanced
Explanation
Something that's nuanced has subtle details that make it complex and interesting. A nuanced conversation isn't just small talk — it really makes you think. Nuanced is one of those words that attempts to capture an elusive quality. When a book or movie is described as nuanced, it implies a work that's meaningful and complicated, with relationships between characters that seem as multi-layered and subtle as real life. Nuance means "slight degree of difference," from the French nuer, "to shade," and a Latin root that means "a cloud or vapor."
Vocabulary lists containing nuanced
Their Eyes Were Watching God
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Love Radio
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Gather
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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.
"Autophagy and aging are so much more nuanced than previously assumed," said Moreno.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
A more mature and nuanced movie might have explored such follow-up questions as whether we really want to appoint Zuckerberg, or anyone else, our arbiter of truth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
After that conversation, I was like, this sounds really fresh and nuanced and organic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
That suggests something more nuanced than an exodus.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
He crouched down at the cut ends and peered at the annual growth rings, trying to get a nuanced read on how tight and regular the grain within was likely to be.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
