Definition of nous
a
: an intelligent purposive principle of the world
b
: the divine reason regarded in Neoplatonism as the first emanation of God
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Synonyms & Antonyms for nous
Synonyms
- common sense,
- discreetness,
- discretion,
- gumption
- [chiefly dialect],
- horse sense,
- levelheadedness,
- policy,
- prudence,
- sense,
- sensibleness,
- wisdom,
- wit
Antonyms
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Examples of nous in a Sentence
an Oxford don who was long on erudition but a little short on everyday nous
Recent Examples on the Web
He's credited Pep Guardiola for his tactical nous in the past, but that doesn't explain away Sevilla.
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SI.com, "Dani Alves: The Maverick Who's Just Too Good to Be Copied," 2 Oct. 2019
While John Stones is equally good in possession, the 25-year-old has not yet developed Alderweireld's defensive nous, which should come with age and experience.
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SI.com, "Man City vs Tottenham: Picking the Best Available Combined XI Ahead of Saturday's League Clash," 15 Aug. 2019
His defensive nous allows the creativity to flow freely from virtuoso talents such as Eden Hazard and Luka Modric.
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SI.com, "FIFPro Awards: Ranking the 6 Greatest World XIs," 5 Sep. 2019
The 37-year-old has built a strong reputation for his tactical nous since retiring from playing.
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SI.com, "Rafa Benitez: 5 Managers Who Could Replace the Spaniard at Newcastle United Next Season," 24 June 2019
The industry will have to use its considerable commercial nous to hit its growth targets if Brexit provokes a deep rupture with the EU.
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The Economist, "Britain’s space industry, Brexit’s final frontier," 3 May 2018
Some creative nous, some flair – something to get England fans off their bloody seats for the first time in years.
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SI.com, "FanView: Why Swansea's Alfie Mawson Offers More to England Than Any Other Uncapped Centre Back," 21 Mar. 2018
The nous of captain Lee Wallace, the longest serving current Rangers player at seven years, was sorely missed today.
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SI.com, "Celtic, Rangers Old Firm Rivalry Fizzles With Sizable Gap Growing Between Two," 30 Apr. 2018
His establishment nous notwithstanding, Mr Pompeo is not playing Mr Trump so much as finding common cause with him.
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The Economist, "The Trump-whisperer," 15 Mar. 2018
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Cite this Entry
“Nous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nous. Accessed 9 Mar. 2021.
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The first known use of nous was in 1678
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