Meaning & use
nuance
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A very slight difference in meaning, tone, feeling or expression that is easy to miss but still matters.
Grammar: Countable for a particular shade (the nuances of a word) and uncountable for subtlety in general (a speech lacking nuance).
Patterns
- a nuance of something
- the nuances of something
The translator captured every nuance of the poem.
Tone of voice can add a nuance that the written words lack.
He explained the nuances of the contract so clearly that the clients relaxed.
noununcountable
Careful, balanced treatment of a topic that acknowledges its complexity instead of reducing it to simple claims.
Grammar: Used without an article, often with lack of or without: the debate lacked nuance.
Patterns
- lack nuance
- with nuance
The article treats immigration with real nuance.
Social media tends to reward outrage rather than nuance.
A complex history cannot be told without nuance.
Word forms
| plural | nuances |
|---|
Common combinations
- subtle nuance
- There is a subtle nuance between 'glad' and 'pleased'.
- miss the nuance
- Machine translation often misses the nuance.
- capture the nuances
- A good actor captures the nuances of a character.
- lack nuance
- The debate lacked nuance.
- cultural nuances
- Learning cultural nuances helps you travel respectfully.
Synonyms and how they differ
- subtlety
- Subtlety describes the general quality of being delicate and hard to notice, while nuance often names one specific tiny difference.
- shade
- Shade is a more visual and figurative image for a gradation, while nuance is used more in language, art and argument.
- distinction
- Distinction can be a clear, obvious difference, whereas nuance is always small.
- undertone
- Undertone suggests a hidden feeling beneath the surface rather than a fine difference.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: nuance or nuisance?
nuance vs nuisance
A nuisance is an annoying person or thing, while a nuance is a tiny difference; they look similar but are unrelated.
Practice
Which word best completes the sentence? The interpreter was praised for catching every ______ of the speaker's tone.
Choose one answer.
Nuance means a small shade of meaning and fits tone. Nuisance is a spelling-alike that means something annoying.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nuance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.