as in ability
mental skill or quickness
maneuvered his opponent into checkmate with his customary finesse
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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
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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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Examples of finesse in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Gurdeep Loyal, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2024
Many craft breweries use the American lager template established by big beer brands but reinvent it with much more flavor and craft finesse.
—Erik Ofgang, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024
Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2024
Deck brings me to a workstation where Carlos, the lead craftsperson for the assembling and sculpting the forms, is finessing a mannequin created specifically for one of the houses cited above.
—Amy Verner, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for finesse 
Noun
Many of these were once city palaces, converted churches, or aristocratic townhouses that still retain their elegant old-world charm but with stylishly contemporary finesse.
—Gurdeep Loyal, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2024
Many craft breweries use the American lager template established by big beer brands but reinvent it with much more flavor and craft finesse.
—Erik Ofgang, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024
Verb
Cy was declarer at today’s slam, and when West led the six of diamonds, Cy must have thought finessing with dummy’s queen was cost-free.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2024
Deck brings me to a workstation where Carlos, the lead craftsperson for the assembling and sculpting the forms, is finessing a mannequin created specifically for one of the houses cited above.
—Amy Verner, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for finesse
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'finesse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Finesse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/finesse. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
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