finesse Hear it!

finesse Definition

fi·nesse (fə nes′)

noun

  1. adroitness and delicacy of performance
  2. the ability to handle delicate and difficult situations skillfully and diplomatically
  3. cunning; skill; artfulness; craft
  4. Bridge an attempt to take a trick with a lower card while holding a higher card not in sequence with it, made in the hope that the intervening card is in the hand of the opponent who has already played

Etymology: Fr < OFr fin, fine

transitive verb -·nessed′, -·ness′·ing

  1. to manage, bring about, or deal with by finesse: sometimes with into
  2. to evade or bypass (a problem, issue, etc.)
  3. Bridge
    1. to make a finesse with (a specified card)
    2. to play a card lower than (the specified intervening card) in making a finesse

intransitive verb

to use or make a finesse

finesse Synonyms

finesse

n.

adroitness, diplomacy, delicacy, artfulness; see ability 2, art 1, tact.

finesse Usage Examples

Object

  • problem: The present book seeks to finesse this problem by starting with the applications, considering some specific non-linear differential equations.
  • shot: Clicking in the red region adds OVERDRIVE Click on the downstroke in the CLIP region to finesse the shot.
  • club: Top marks to those who rose with the ace, played a spade to hand, and finessed the club.

Converse of object

  • lack: They also lack the finesse you may be used to with your rods back home.
  • require: Running 4 modules can be a bit of a trick and requires some finesse most of the time.
  • take: Do you take the club finesse, or the spade finesse, or both?
  • show: CM: very supple, already showing great finesse.
  • have: Terry, by contrast, has less finesse at the expressive level.
  • combine: His style combines graphic finesse with an almost spiritual quality of calm.. .

Used with why or when

  • what: We need to prioritize and finesse what we can do; we need to make some hard decisions.

Adjective modifier

  • surprising: This vintage has surprising finesse despite a hefty whack of alcohol ( 14.5 per cent ).
  • considerable: This beer has considerable finesse with is clean body.
  • technical: He had no formal training, but what he lacked in technical finesse he made up for in style.
  • great: CM: very supple, already showing great finesse.
  • little: These include The Old Dame School, one of two cottages - with The Old Post Office - which show a little architectural finesse.
  • more: Here's where you need a strategy with a little more finesse to correct the image.

Noun used with modifier

  • spade: Do you take the club finesse, or the spade finesse, or both?
  • diamond: West cashed two top clubs and then took the diamond finesse, followed by cashing the ace.
  • club: Do you take the club finesse, or the spade finesse, or both?
  • heart: Of course, East might take the heart finesse!