finesse

In the ballet rehearsal, they warm up, they finesse, they practice and pretend.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 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

But what he might lack in rhetorical finesse, he more than has in job experience, as least as defined by Trump.

From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026

In the second cast, Christine Shevchenko fell far short of Ms. Teuscher’s finesse, but she essayed the opening “Preghiera” movement with more of its requisite lilt and shimmer than Ms. Teuscher did.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

“I have so much finesse, you don’t even know.”

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser

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

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

The question is whether it matters if an international team's top players are finessed in another country - or in Welsh rugby's case, by their biggest rival.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2023

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

They’ve tested concepts on stage that haven’t worked; sometimes comedians themselves have realized their act needs more finessing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2025

With enough time and imagination, kickers and equipment managers are capable of finessing footballs in ways that make them soar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025

He is better at finessing, and his message was a trick because Rose-in-Hood had told him that at home there were special obstacles to the marriage.

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 05 by Sir Richard Francis Burton