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• savoir-faire
  savoir-faire

  noun

  knowledge of just what to do in any situation; tact.
• savoir faire
  savoir faire

  Ease and dexterity in social and practical affairs: “Peter is a friendly person, but he lacks the savoir faire required for a successful career in the foreign service.” From French, meaning “to know how to act.”

savoir-faire

American  

[sav-wahr-fair, sa-vwar-fer] / ˈsæv wɑrˈfɛər, sa vwarˈfɛr /

noun

1. knowledge of just what to do in any situation; tact.

   Synonyms:

   ability, skill, discernment, diplomacy, adroitness, adaptability

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savoir-faire British  

/ ˈsævwɑːˈfɛə /

noun

1. the ability to do the right thing in any situation

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savoir faire Cultural  

1. Ease and dexterity in social and practical affairs: “Peter is a friendly person, but he lacks the savoir faire required for a successful career in the foreign service.” From French, meaning “to know how to act.”

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Etymology

Origin of savoir-faire

1805–15; < French: literally, knowing how to do

Explanation

Your savoir-faire is your social smoothness. It will serve you well at parties and on the first day at a new school. As with so many French words that have English cousins, the French version somehow retains an edge of sophistication over its counterpart. The nearest English equivalent of savoir-faire is know-how. But while know-how pertains to nearly all skills, especially practical ones, savoir-faire usually refers specifically to skill in social and diplomatic situations.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

savoir-faire savoir faire

"Our reputation is at stake. That is why we must unite all our knowledge, our efforts, our savoir-faire to achieve this goal."

From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2023

In the Louvre’s gilded Galerie d’Apollon, home to the French crown jewels, four ornately embroidered jackets celebrate the glories of France and its savoir-faire.

From New York Times ● Jan. 28, 2022

An institution near rue Mouffetard, La Tuile à Loup cultivates beauty by preserving the savoir-faire of traditional artisans in the countryside.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 14, 2021

Why to go: Joie de vivre, savoir-faire, and that je ne sais quoi … There’s a reason France is the most visited country in the world.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 13, 2020

He was painfully aware that he lacked the ecclesiastical aplomb and savoir-faire that enabled so many of his colleagues in other faiths and sects to get ahead.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

The Spanish champions have the experience, the savoir faire, the heritage, the money time mentality and the talent.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2024

Not long ago, a quick-service pit stop would have been unimaginable coming from a restaurateur known for his savoir faire and designer suits.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2022

James, pillow-lipped and constitutionally ebullient, never manages to play a convincing mouse, and Hammer signifies his savoir faire by smoking cigarettes and dispensing clipped orders to underlings.

From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2020

There are, of course, some in Silicon Valley who blend tech savoir faire with old-school Carnegie-style philanthropy.

From New York Times ● Oct. 31, 2015

To supervise the instruction of modern youth a man requires something more than profound learning: he must possess savoir faire.

From The Lighter Side of School Life by Ian Hay