finesse

It snatches at our attention with no more finesse than a losing fighter fumbling for a weapon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Against Cape Verde, Spain lacked finesse in their passing.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

When my body said to fling, I really needed to flick; when I used force, I really needed finesse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

The center, to the chagrin of many in the NBA, has long been known more for his finesse touch shots than physical play.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026

She was a strong digger but had no finesse, so he assigned her the task of building up the low ridge that kept the garden soggy when it rained.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Soft and supple, it finesses the line between elegance and heft.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2021

The computers say the mate is now forced but there are a couple of amazing finesses along the way.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 5, 2019

Grant attempts two tricky maneuvers with “Harpoon” and, for the most part, finesses them both.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2019

McCann finesses “Dancer” — his fictionalized account of the life of Rudolf Nureyev — with letters and diary entries.

From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2018

Hoagland would say that now was the time for playing certain finesses, that in the wake of the activity arose those moments that could be manipulated.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Berkshire does own about $60 billion of Apple stock, but that issue likely could be finessed to get Cook.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

Over the years, the honed and finessed those skills.

From BBC ● May 22, 2025

It’s a mammalian innovation, honed and finessed in the latter stages of the Mesozoic era, the so-called Age of Reptiles.

From Slate ● Sep. 7, 2024

In bright, airy studios in London and Malibu, they finessed what would become Lipa’s most ambitious — and euphoric-sounding — record to date.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2024

UC Berkeley’s medical school would not get over its disdain for John’s studies for years, until the situation was finessed by the creation of a separate laboratory for radiation science in 1942.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

And there are some feelings about this show’s return that no amount of script finessing can alter.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026

He won the bid on the basis of completing the project in three days but then spent three months finessing the terms of the contract before subcontracting the job.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

So it’s a pleasure to report that actor-turned-filmmaker Matthew Shear, with his debut feature “Fantasy Life,” shows a facility for finessing a meal that lands the last bite.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026

They spend their summers on this 140m stretch, finessing their starts and building their bodies in the gym for the winters ahead.

From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026

Tresler, watching him, could not quite make up his mind whether he was playing the winning hand, or whether his opponent was finessing for the odd trick.

From The Night Riders A Romance of Early Montana by Ridgwell Cullum