nuance

Borrowed from French nuance (“nuance, shade, hue”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnjuː.ɑːns/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈnuː.ɑːns/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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nuance (countable and uncountable, plural nuances)

1. A minor distinction.
2. 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, John Oliver, “Encryption”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 5, written by Tim Carvell; Josh Gondelman; Dan Gurewitch; Jeff Maurer; Ben Silva; Will Tracy; Jill Twiss; Seena Vali; Julie Weiner, 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.

• nuanced

nuance (third-person singular simple present nuances, present participle nuancing, simple past and past participle nuanced)

1. (transitive) To apply a nuance to; to change or redefine in a subtle way.

Borrowed from French nuance.

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• IPA^(key): /nyˈʋɑ̃sə/, /nyˈʋɑnsə/
• Hyphenation: nu‧an‧ce

nuance c (plural nuances or nuancen, diminutive nuanceje n or nuancetje n)

1. nuance, subtle distinction

nuer +‎ -ance

• IPA^(key): /nɥɑ̃s/

• Audio (France)

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• Homophone: nuances
• Rhymes: -ɑ̃s

nuance f (plural nuances)

1. nuance
2. gradation of colors
3. (music) dynamics

• “nuance” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

nuance f (plural nuances)

1. Alternative form of nuança