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Showing results for finesse. Search instead for fingermesser.
Definitions

finesse

[fi-ness] / fɪˈnɛss /




Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

You can imagine the ripples of the cloth and the true expansiveness of the landscape, because Christo employed illusionistic effects with great finesse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 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

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

For sleight of hand, she realized, so that he can keep contact with coins or cards or finesse the workings of a lock.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

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

From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2021

Black bass are good on spinners, crankbaits, and green pumpkin finesses plastic worms in 12-18’ fishing deeper docks, main lake points with near timber, drop-offs, and points.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 4, 2020

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2019

At one table, Kit Woolsey of Kensington, Calif., a three-time world champion, took two diamond finesses.

From New York Times ● Aug. 3, 2014

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

Perennially quotable, ad-libbed to Brit-accented perfection by co-creators Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer and finessed into an iconic spoof by director Rob Reiner, “Spinal Tap” was born.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2025

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

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

Your idea is pretty special, but perhaps needs a little finessing.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

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

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 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

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

There is one thing, Emma, which a man can always do, if he chuses, and that is, his duty; not by manoeuvring and finessing, but by vigour and resolution.

From Emma by Jane Austen




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