nuance

See also Nuance, and nuancé

English

WOTD - 1 February 2007    

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈnjuː.ɑːns/
• (GenAm) IPA: /ˈnuː.ɑːns/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Etymology

From the French nuance meaning "nuance", "shade" or "hue".

Noun

nuance (plural nuances)

1. A minor distinction.
2. Subtlety or fine detail.

   Understanding the basics is easy; 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...

Derived terms

• nuanced

Translations

minor distinction

German: Nuance (de) f. Italian: sfumatura (it) Japanese: ニュアンス (ja) (nyuansu) Polish: niuans (pl) m.

Romanian: nuanță (ro) f., nuanțe (ro) f. pl. Russian: нюанс (ru) (njuáns) m. Swedish: nyans (sv) c.

subtlety or fine detail

Croatian: nuance f., osjetljivost f. Dutch: nuance f., subtiliteit f. Finnish: nyanssi (fi), vivahde (fi) French: nuance (fr) f., subtilité (fr) f. German: Nuance (de) f.

Japanese: ニュアンス (ja) (nyuansu) Polish: niuans m., subtelność f. Russian: нюанс (njuáns) m., тонкость (tónkost’) f. Spanish: matiz (es) f. Swedish: nyans (sv) c.

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French

Etymology

nuer +‎ -ance

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ny.ɑ̃s/

• Audio (France)

  (file)

• Homophone: nuances

Noun

nuance f. (plural nuances)

1. nuance
2. gradation of colors