tour de force
noun
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.
tours de force
-
pluralof tour de force.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
The happy tourists don’t notice Park Chan-wook, the cinematic master behind such tours de force as “Oldboy” and “Decision to Leave,” projecting thoughtful politesse beside him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025
They are tours de force because they've had to claw their way to that position, to have their voice heard in the room and in society.
From Salon ● Nov. 7, 2023
The scene of Alec at work in 1964—unaware that his trade is heading toward extinction—is one of the novel’s tours de force, heady, vivid, ecstatically precise.
From Slate ● May 18, 2021
Included are those tours de force “The Great Sermon Handicap,” and “The Purity of the Turf.”
From Washington Post ● Feb. 5, 2019
It is not, however, in "The Bells" or in "The Raven," marvellous as are these tours de force, that we see the essential greatness of Poe revealed.
From Some Diversions of a Man of Letters by Gosse, Edmund
