nuance

[ noo-ahns, nyoo-, noo-ahns, nyoo-; French ny-ahns ]

noun

, plural nu·anc·es [noo, -ahn-siz, nyoo, -, noo-, ahn, -siz, nyoo-, n, y, -, ahns].

1. a subtle difference or distinction in expression, meaning, response, etc.

   Synonyms: refinement, nicety, subtlety, shading, shade

2. a very slight difference or variation in color or tone.

verb (used with object)

, nu·anced, nu·anc·ing.

1. to give nuance to; to color:

   She carefully nuanced her words, to put a positive spin on the situation.

nuance

/ njuːˈɑːns; ˈnjuːɑːns /

noun

1. a subtle difference in colour, meaning, tone, etc; a shade or graduation

verb

1. to give subtle differences to

   carefully nuanced words

nuance

1. A fine shade of meaning: “I liked the film, but I know I missed some of its nuances.”

Other Words From

• nu·anced adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nuance¹

First recorded in 1775–85; from French: “shade, hue,” equivalent to nu(er) “to shade” (literally, “to cloud”), from unattested Vulgar Latin nūbāre, derivative of unattested nūba, for Latin nūbēs “cloud”) + -ance noun suffix; -ance

Word History and Origins

Origin of nuance¹

C18: from French, from nuer to show light and shade, ultimately from Latin nūbēs a cloud

Example Sentences

He has none of the subtlety and nuance of black conservative academics such as Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams.

From The Daily Beast

What these trips show is that there is a bit of nuance to life in North Korea.

From The Daily Beast

You can agree or disagree with our perspective, but at least acknowledge that vital nuance.

From The Daily Beast

I do not envy him this ministry of reconciliation, which is fraught with complexity and nuance.

From The Daily Beast

Mistakes happen, nuance is often lost, and everything is seen through a prism of who is winning and who is losing.

From The Daily Beast

I grinned, watching every play of emotion on his face, and carefully weighing every nuance in his tone of voice.

From Project Gutenberg

One feels that in the three centuries since Monna Lisa love has taken on a new and subtler nuance.

From Project Gutenberg

He lived in London until his death, without once leaving England; and that gives to his pictures a distinct nuance.

From Project Gutenberg

Each company established for the performance of this comedy gave a fresh nuance to the combinations which the show permitted.

From Project Gutenberg

Each carried its own nuance, its quite separate implication, and somehow the later term took higher ground.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• distinction
• gradation
• hint
• implication
• nicety
• refinement
• subtlety