finesse

¹fi·nesse

noun \fə-ˈnes\

Definition of FINESSE

1

: refinement or delicacy of workmanship, structure, or texture

2

: skillful handling of a situation : adroit maneuvering

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

Examples of FINESSE

1. She handled the interview questions with finesse.
2. <maneuvered his opponent into checkmate with his customary finesse>

Origin of FINESSE

Middle English, from Middle French, from fin

First Known Use: 1528

Related to FINESSE

Synonyms: adroitness, cleverness, dexterity, sleight

Related Words: ability, aptitude, capability, capacity, faculty, knack, prowess, talent; competence, competency, efficiency, expertise, know-how, proficiency; ingeniousness, ingenuity, resourcefulness; savvy, sharpness, shrewdness; artfulness, artifice, caginess (also cageyness), canniness, craft, craftiness, cunning, cunningness, deviousness, foxiness, guile, slickness, slyness, sneakiness, subtleness, wiliness

Near Antonyms: inadequacy, incompetence, incompetency, ineptitude, ineptness; brainlessness, denseness, density, doltishness, dopiness, dullness (also dulness), dumbness, fatuity, foolishness, mindlessness, obtuseness, senselessness, simpleness, slowness, stupidity, stupidness, witlessness

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Rhymes with FINESSE

abscess, access, address, aggress, assess, bench-press, caress, clothespress, coatdress, cold-press, compress, confess, cross-dress, CS, depress, de-stress, digress, distress, drill press, egress, excess, express, fluoresce, French press, full-dress, handpress, headdress, housedress, idlesse, impress, ingress, Meknes, much less, nightdress, noblesse, no less, obsess, oppress, outguess, possess, precess, prestress, princess, process, profess, progress, recess, redress, regress, re-press, repress, shirtdress, side-dress, SS, success, sundress, suppress, tendresse, top-dress, transgress, undress, unless, web press, winepress, word stress