finesse

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noun fi·nesse \fə-ˈnes\

Definition of finesse

1 : refinement or delicacy of workmanship, structure, or texture trinkets of an extreme finesse — Arnold Rosin
2 : skillful handling of a situation : adroit maneuvering She handled the interviewer's questions with finesse.
3 : the withholding of one's highest card or trump in the hope that a lower card will take the trick because the only opposing higher card is in the hand of an opponent who has already played

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Examples of finesse in a Sentence

She handled the interview questions with finesse.
maneuvered his opponent into checkmate with his customary finesse

Recent Examples of finesse from the Web

But Trump may have one ace in the hole: McConnell and his parliamentary finesse.

— chad pergram, Fox News, "Senate health bill pulled – but ‘don’t count Senator McConnell out’", 28 June 2017
Joon-ho handles the tonal shifts well and brings his typical filmmaking finesse.

— patrick cooley, cleveland.com, "Director Bong Joon-ho's 'Okja' hits Netflix on Wednesday", 27 June 2017
During Desdemona and Otello’s love duet at the end of Act I, for example, Mr. Pappano sent off spikes of extreme feeling that Mr. Kaufmann, for all his vocal finesse, didn’t quite match.

— zachary woolfe, New York Times, "Review: Jonas Kaufmann Sings an ‘Otello’ for the Ages", 22 June 2017
A skilled 3-point shooter at 7 feet whose finesse game has been compared favorably to fellow European Kristaps Porzingis, Markkanen gives the Bulls a perimeter threat to space the floor.

— david haugh, chicagotribune.com, "Bulls do right thing, realize time to move on and trade Jimmy Butler", 22 June 2017
The skills, ability to adapt to conditions and the proper blend of aggressiveness, finesse and imagination to put the ball into the cup the least number of times determine winners.

— tom yantz, courant.com, "Next Generation Of PGA's Elite Strongly Influenced By Tiger, Mickelson", 21 June 2017
The Kentucky guard attacks the basket with muscular impunity and with all of the grace and finesse of a bayonet charge.

— jon hale, The Courier-Journal, "Isaiah Briscoe NBA Draft scouting report", 20 June 2017
Primarily a finesse player who must bulk up to handle the night-in/night-out physicality of the NBA .

— rick bonnell, charlotteobserver, "Ranking the top NBA prospects by position heading into Thursday’s draft", 19 June 2017
Reversing Obama’s executive orders, while unpopular to most people, didn’t require much finesse, assuaging of opponents, or even coordination of his team.

— j. weston phippen, The Atlantic, "Trump's Cuban Policy Reversal", 16 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'finesse'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of finesse

Middle English, from Middle French, from fin

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First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

finesse

verb fi·nesse

Definition of finesse

finessed

;

finessing

intransitive verb
: to make a finesse in playing cards
transitive verb
1 : to play (a card) in a finesse
2a : to bring about, direct, or manage by adroit maneuvering finesse his way through tight places — Marquis Jamesb : evade, skirt finesse the hard issues

See finesse defined for English-language learners

Examples of finesse in a Sentence

He managed to finesse a deal through bargaining.
She is just trying to finesse the issue.

Recent Examples of finesse from the Web

For about a decade, the tax abatements and legal loopholes that Trump was able to finesse came about, in large part, because of Cohn.

— marie brenner, The Hive, "How Donald Trump and Roy Cohn’s Ruthless Symbiosis Changed America", 4 July 2017
For Clinton, the challenge is to create a few—to tell some unpleasant truths to his party and the nation, to show some passion, to stop trying to finesse all the people, all of the time.

— joe klein, Daily Intelligencer, "Bill Clinton: Who Is This Guy?", 30 June 2017
Mr. Godwin tries to finesse the problem by emphasizing from the start the Duke’s own instability.

— jesse green, New York Times, "Review: In ‘Measure for Measure,’ Desperately Seeking Solutions in a Problem Play", 25 June 2017
The uninvited guests finesse their way through a security checkpoint staffed by uniformed Secret Service officers, according to congressional testimony by the agency's director Mark Sullivan.

— cnn library, CNN, "White House Security Breaches Fast Facts", 14 June 2017
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The supposedly finesse, jump-shooting Golden State Warriors lead all playoff teams in post touches, helping fuel the second-most efficient offense.

— chris fedor, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Cavaliers need to be aware of Golden State's 'deceiving' post touches", 30 May 2017
At about 5 inches long by 3 inches wide by 3 inches high, and weighing less than a pound, this little impresser can glide in and around pockets, pleats and other tight places bigger irons couldn’t finesse.

— judi dash, The Denver Post, "Travel gear: SteamFast SF-717 Home and Away Travel Steam Iron", 21 Mar. 2017
A Junior Olympic sized pool with dedicated lap lanes is a great place to finesse your freestyle.

— lee ann james, Orange County Register, "Vista Swim Club Opens, Baker Ranch Amenities Complete", 3 Feb. 2017

finesse Started Out As a Noun

Finesse was a noun for more than 200 years before it became a verb. In the early 16th century the noun finesse was used to refer to refinement or delicacy of workmanship, structure, or texture. Soon thereafter it developed the "skillful handling of a situation" meaning most common today. The first use of the verb finesse, however, was not as a corollary of one of these meanings. Instead, its meaning had to do with cards: if you finesse in a game like bridge or whist, you withhold your highest card or trump in the hope that a lower card will take the trick because the only opposing higher card is in the hand of an opponent who has already played. The other verb meanings of finesse developed within a few decades of this one.