finesse
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.
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Jackson is a quiet star who doesn’t deploy a gossipy agent to finesse reporters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Much work remains to be done to finesse the conclusions, and a paper outlining the results is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
In each locale, O’Keeffe’s palette and even the vibrancy of her works changed, and in each one her abiding originality, power and finesse as an artist are unmistakable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
It snatches at our attention with no more finesse than a losing fighter fumbling for a weapon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
It wasn't until he took up running, an activity that re-wards will and determination more than finesse or cunning, that he found his athletic calling.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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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
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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
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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
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
The important decision once made, no further finessing of words seemed either necessary or dignified to him.
From The White Linen Nurse by Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
Vocabulary lists containing finesse
Trumps
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This Week in Pop Culture: February 2 - 8, 2019
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