nuance
See also: Nuance and nuancé
English
WOTD – 1 February 2007
Etymology
Borrowed from French nuance (“nuance, shade, hue”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnjuː.ɑːns/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈnuː.ɑːns/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
nuance (countable and uncountable, plural nuances)
- A minor distinction.
- hidden nuances
- Subtlety or fine detail.
- Understanding the basics is easy, but appreciating the nuances takes years.
- 1901: Alpheus Spring Packard, Lamarck, the Founder of Evolution
- ...the richer our collections become, the more numerous are the proofs that all is more or less shaded (nuance), that the remarkable differences become obliterated...
- 2016, Tim Carvell; Josh Gondelman; Dan Gurewitch; Jeff Maurer; Ben Silva; Will Tracy; Jill Twiss; Seena Vali; Julie Weiner, “Encryption”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 5, HBO, Warner Bros. Television:
- It’s a miracle Lindsey Graham has met the concept of nuance. And this is the man who once warned “the world is literally about to blow up.” So you’re not dealing with someone who likes to dabble with grey areas.
Derived terms
- nuanced
Translations
minor distinction
|
subtlety or fine detail
|
Verb
nuance (third-person singular simple present nuances, present participle nuancing, simple past and past participle nuanced)
- (transitive) To apply a nuance to; to change or redefine in a subtle way.
Translations
Translations
|
Czech
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈnuant͡sɛ], [ˈnɪjant͡sɛ]
- Hyphenation: nuan‧ce
Noun
nuance f
- nuance
Declension
Declension of nuance
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | nuance | nuance |
genitive | nuance | nuanc |
dative | nuanci | nuancím |
accusative | nuanci | nuance |
vocative | nuance | nuance |
locative | nuanci | nuancích |
instrumental | nuancí | nuancemi |
Further reading
- nuance in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
- nuance in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from French nuance, from Middle French nuance, from Latin [Term?].
Pronunciation
Audio (file) - IPA(key): /nyˈɑ̃sə/, /nyˈɑnsə/
- Hyphenation: nu‧an‧ce
Noun
nuance f (plural nuances or nuancen, diminutive nuanceje n or nuancetje n)
- nuance, subtle distinction
Related terms
- nuanceren
Descendants
- Afrikaans: nuanse
- → Indonesian: nuansa
French
Etymology
nuer + -ance
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nɥɑ̃s/
Audio (France) (file) - Homophone: nuances
- Rhymes: -ɑ̃s
Noun
nuance f (plural nuances)
- nuance
- gradation of colors
- (music) dynamics
Descendants
- → Bulgarian: нюа́нс (njuáns)
- → Czech: nuance
- → Danish: nuance
- → Dutch: nuance
- Afrikaans: nuanse
- → Indonesian: nuansa
- → English: nuance
- → Esperanto: nuanco
- → Ido: nuanco
- → Finnish: nyanssi
- → German: Nuance
- → Norwegian: nyanse
- → Polish: niuans
- → Portuguese: nuança, nuance
- → Romanian: nuanță
- → Russian: нюа́нс (njuáns)
- → Slovak: nuansa
- → Swedish: nyans
Further reading
- “nuance”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Portuguese
Noun
nuance f (plural nuances)
- Alternative form of nuança