as in ability
mental skill or quickness
maneuvered his opponent into checkmate with his customary finesse
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to negotiate
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care
had to finesse the schedule a bit to fit in another patient that afternoon
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to evade
to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery
tried to finesse the blame for the foreign policy fiasco, even though he was secretary of state at the time
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of finesse
Dave Quinn, People.com, 16 May 2025
Berry wasn’t having it—and handled it with comedic finesse.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 13 May 2025
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Feb. 2025
Eventually, Tewolde, who was born in Sudan and attended Texas A&M University in addition to Southern University for law school, took her talents to television to show defendants how to finesse the courtroom and lessen one’s chances of prosecution.
—Julian Randall, Essence, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for finesse
Noun
Rogers embodies that transformation with finesse, capturing Betty's signature voice and mannerisms while infusing the character with contemporary depth and relatability.
—Dave Quinn, People.com, 16 May 2025
Berry wasn’t having it—and handled it with comedic finesse.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 13 May 2025
Verb
The friends studied hours of archival footage to mimic the pacing of old-school pornos and finessed endlessly to get the ooey-gooey mood just right.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Feb. 2025
Eventually, Tewolde, who was born in Sudan and attended Texas A&M University in addition to Southern University for law school, took her talents to television to show defendants how to finesse the courtroom and lessen one’s chances of prosecution.
—Julian Randall, Essence, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for finesse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for finesse
Noun
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This could add pressure to your ability and desire to turn your passions into something sustainable, such as passive income or a new investment opportunity.—
Valerie Mesa,
People.com,
4 June 2025
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However, human ability to connect, imagine, and navigate ambiguity remains irreplaceable.—
Arafat Kabir,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
Verb
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For starters, unlike Trump’s single-minded focus on China during his first-term trade war, Trump 2.0 is sparring with every country on the planet with the ostensible goal of negotiating freer and fairer trade deals, from our closest democratic allies to the Chinese Communist Party.—
Tiana Lowe Doescher,
The Washington Examiner,
6 June 2025
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Here’s the thing, no employee should be left to negotiate basic dignity on their own.—
Aparna Rae,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
Verb
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Massey has evaded hundreds of authorities in a multistate manhunt.—
Holly Yan,
CNN Money,
3 June 2025
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The last few months have borne witness to AI systems learning to mislead, cheat, and try to evade shutdown—even resorting to blackmail.—
Harry Booth,
Time,
3 June 2025
Noun
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Aspiring leaders or new managers don’t have to be in a leadership position to start building their leadership prowess.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
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After charming the world as one of sports’ favorite couples, thanks to their prowess on the track, their unwavering support of each other, and their TikTok-worthy dance moves, Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles and Jamaican Olympic bronze medalist Junelle Bromfield are getting married.—
Victoria Uwumarogie,
Essence,
3 June 2025
Verb
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This may surprise the more than 1 million Californians who received $21.65 apiece from the state in mid-May after a settlement reached by state Attorney General Rob Bonta with three gasoline trading firms that allegedly manipulated gas prices in 2016 during another refinery outage.—
Thomas Elias,
Mercury News,
6 June 2025
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Deepfakes are manipulated images, audio recordings, or videos of real people that have been altered with artificial intelligence to misrepresent someone as saying or doing something that the person did not actually say or do.—
Alain Sherter,
CBS News,
6 June 2025
Verb
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The team’s careful planning and early outreach helped avoid problems in the future, like having to replace important music in post-production – something that simply wasn’t an option here.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
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Yet Trump held his fire, in part because of an effort to avoid an escalation that would trigger Musk to declare all-out war against Republican lawmakers weighing the future of a bill essential to his entire agenda, according to two White House officials.—
Phil Mattingly,
CNN Money,
6 June 2025
Noun
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There was a concern Forest would have to cash in on either Morgan Gibbs-White or Murillo — the Brazilian who retains the unusual talent, for a defender, of being truly exciting to watch — to keep themselves out of PSR trouble.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
6 June 2025
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Pittsburgh has the talent on the roster to win at a high level with a star quarterback under center.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 June 2025
Verb
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The military's motive for funding nuclear thermal propulsion was its potential for becoming a more efficient means of maneuvering around the Earth.—
Stephen Clark – Jun 3,
ArsTechnica,
3 June 2025
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The fact is that the indomitable Erdogan has run out of room to maneuver.—
Henri J. Barkey,
Foreign Affairs,
29 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Finesse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finesse. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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