tour de force

[toor duh fawrs, -fohrs, toor duh fawrs]

noun

plural

tours de force 

1. an exceptional achievement by an artist, author, or the like, that is unlikely to be equaled by that person or anyone else; stroke of genius.

   Herman Melville's Moby Dick was a tour de force.

2. a particularly adroit maneuver or technique in handling a difficult situation.

   The way the president got his bill through the Senate was a tour de force.

3. a feat requiring unusual strength, skill, or ingenuity.

tour de force

/ ˈtʊə də ˈfɔːs, tur də fɔrs /

noun

1. a masterly or brilliant stroke, creation, effect, or accomplishment

tour de force

1. A feat accomplished through great skill and ability: “The speech was a tour de force; it swept the audience off its feet.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of tour de force¹

1795–1805; < French: feat of strength or skill

Word History and Origins

Origin of tour de force¹

literally: feat of skill or strength

Example Sentences

Welcome to the Mayhem Ball, a magnificent and operatic tour de force; that pitches the star's inner angels and demons in a fight for her very soul.

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But he didn’t stop there, offering an analysis of judicial precedent that was a moral tour de force.

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Sarah Snook is the presumed front-runner in the lead actress in a play race for her solo tour de force in the multimedia extravaganza version of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

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A critic for the Independent Review hailed it as “a literary tour de force.”

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Booker was a tour de force, with a seemingly unending well of energy.

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