finesse

\fi.nɛs\

/\fi.nɛs\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“finesse” has 8 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #10,006. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,006
frequency rank, French
3,276
“F” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qualité de ce qui est fin, délié ou menu.

Corpus desk

Index FR-finesse · finesse · French

finesse · rank #10,006 · 8 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,006
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,276
  • PHOTO-FINISH filières

Nearest frequency peer: filières (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « finesse »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « finesse » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

finesse vs finisse
86% similar
finesse vs fitness
71% similar
finesse vs funeste
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for finesse
PropertyValue
Headwordfinesse
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fi.nɛs\
Letters7
Frequency rank#10,006
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « finesse »

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).finessese place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « filières » (#10,005), « fuit » (#10,007), « fardeau » (#10,004). Parmi 3,276 lemmes en « F », « finesse » est au #10,006. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around finesse (IPA \fi.nɛs\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,006 among 3,276 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for finesse, with forms such as "ffinesse", "fiensse", and "finese". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "finisse", "fitness", "funeste", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is finesse, spelled F-I-N-E-S-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qualité de ce qui est fin, délié ou menu.
  2. 2
    Qualité ce qui a une forme délicate et agréable.
  3. 3
    Manière de peindre, de graver, de dessiner légère, délicate et gracieuse ; effet qui en résulte.
  4. 4
    Effets de touche, de ton, remarquables par leur légèreté, leur grâce, leur délicatesse.
  5. 5
    Délicatesse, en parlant des sens.
  6. 6
    Délicatesse de l’esprit, du goût, du jugement.
  7. 7
    Qualité des choses faites pour être appréciées par le goût et par la pénétration d’esprit.
  8. 8
    La chose même qui est difficile à sentir, à saisir, à pénétrer.
  9. 9
    La finesse d’esprit.
  10. 10
    Ruse ; artifice. Invention cousue de fil blanc, machination particulièrement habile ou ridicule. Mensonge.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how finesse appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. De près, je pus remarquer la finesse de ses cheveux, qui eussent rivalisé avec ces fils de soie que les premières brises de l'automne détachent du manteau de la Vierge; ….
  2. […], et l'on y voit de grands troupeaux de mérinos, remarquables par leur bonne conformation et l'abondance et la finesse de leurs toisons […].

This word in other languages

finesse(English)acrimonia(Español)Schärfe(Deutsch)acrimônia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffinesse
  • fiensse
  • finese
  • fineses
  • finnesse
  • finsese
  • fniesse
  • ifnesse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of finesse - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ffinesse1fiensse2finese1fineses2finnesse1finsese2fniesse2ifnesse2
Edit distance from "finesse"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "finesse"?
"finesse" is spelled F-I-N-E-S-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is \fi.nɛs\.
What does "finesse" mean?
As a noun, "finesse" means: Qualité de ce qui est fin, délié ou menu.
What words are commonly confused with "finesse"?
"finesse" is commonly confused with "finisse", "fitness", "funeste". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "finesse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "finesse" is \fi.nɛs\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "finesse" come from?
"finesse" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "finesse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

fardeau#10,004grimper#10,009Legault#10,024maintes#10,028

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

culotte8 variantsclique8 variantspoupée8 variantsrouleau8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list