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PlainSpell

finesse

fin·esse/fɪˈnɛs/noun, verb

finesse is spelled F-I-N-E-S-S-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (fin·esse). It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,965th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, finesse means “A skill in the handling or manipulation of a situation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of finesse is finesses.

How many letters and syllables are in finesse?

Letters7: F-I-N-E-S-S-E
Syllables2: fin·esse
In writing1.5 times per million words; the 22,965th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is finesse?

Finesse appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,965th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce finesse?

  • UK /fɪˈnɛs/
  • UK /fɨ-/
  • US /fɪˈnɛs/

Finesse has 2 syllables, split fin·esse in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-finesse.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with finesse?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as finesse from its last stressed vowel (/ɛs/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of finesse

  • finesses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • finessing participle, present
  • finessed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does finesse mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A skill in the handling or manipulation of a situation.

  2. 2

    The property of having elegance, grace, refinement, or skill.

  3. 3

    An adroit maneuver.

  4. 4

    In bridge, whist, etc.: a technique which allows one to win a trick, usually by playing a card when it is thought that a card that can beat it is held by another player whose turn is over.

verb

  1. 1

    CanadaUSTo evade (a problem, situation, etc.) by using some clever argument or stratagem.

  2. 2

    CanadaUSTo handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to manipulate in a crafty way.

  3. 3

    CanadaUSslangTo obtain something from someone through trickery or manipulation.

  4. 4

    To attempt to win a trick by finessing.

  5. 5

    To play (a card) as a finesse.

  6. 6

    obsoleteTo play a ball out of the way of an opponent.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Finesse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
GermanRaffinesse, Geschick (skill in handling or manipulation of a situation), Finesse, Feinheit (property of having elegance, grace, refinement…), ausarbeiten, aufwerten (to handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to…)
Frenchfinesse (property of having elegance, grace, refinement…), finasser (to handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to…), impasse ((card games) technique to win a trick)
Portuguesefineza, fino (property of having elegance, grace, refinement…)
Spanishfineza (property of having elegance, grace, refinement…), apañar, amañar (to handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to…), mónita (adroit manoeuvre), esquivar, evadir (to evade using some clever argument or stratagem)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does finesse come from?

From Middle English finesse (“a degree of excellence; (of metal) fineness, purity”), from Middle French finesse, Old French finesse (“a fineness; a delicacy; slenderness”), from fine, fin (“fine, thin”) (from Latin fīnis (“an end”); compare Middle English fīn (“of superior quality; precious, valuable; admirable, pleasing; pure, refined; fineness, purity; delicate, exquisite, fine; sharp, thin”)) + -esse (suffix forming nouns describing the condition of being something). The verb is derived from the noun.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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