Meanings
plural nuances
- countableuncountableSubtlety or fine detail.
Understanding the basics is easy, but appreciating the nuances takes years.
2 more examples
[…] 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 […]
1901, Alpheus Spring Packard, Lamarck, the Founder of EvolutionIt’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.
2016, Tim Carvell [et al.], “Encryption”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 5, John Oliver (actor), Warner Bros. Television, via HBO
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian нюа́нс, отте́нък
- нюа́нс (njuáns)minor distinction
- отте́нък (otténăk)minor distinction
Catalan matís, matís
- matísminor distinction
- matíssubtlety or fine detail
Chinese Mandarin 細微區別 /细微区别, 小差異 /小差异
- 細微區別 /细微区别 (xìwēi qūbié)minor distinction
- 小差異 /小差异 (xiǎo chāyì)minor distinction
- 微小差別 /微小差别 (wēixiǎo chābié)minor distinction
- 細膩 /细腻 (xìnì)subtlety or fine detail
- 微妙 (wēimiào)subtlety or fine detail
- 添加細微差別 /添加细微差别 (tiānjiā xìwēi chābié)to apply a nuance to
- 微妙地改變 /微妙地改变 (wēimiào de gǎibiàn)to apply a nuance to
- 細緻調整 /细致调整 (xìzhì tiáozhěng)to apply a nuance to
Czech jemný rozdíl, nuance
- jemný rozdílminor distinction
- nuanceminor distinction
Danish nuance, nuance
- nuanceminor distinction
- nuancesubtlety or fine detail
Dutch nuance, nuance
- nuanceminor distinction
- nuancesubtlety or fine detail
- subtiliteitsubtlety or fine detail
- nuancerento apply a nuance to
Esperanto nuanco, nuanco
- nuancominor distinction
- nuancosubtlety or fine detail
Finnish vivahde, nyanssi
- vivahdeminor distinction
- nyanssisubtlety or fine detail
- vivahdesubtlety or fine detail
- nyansoidato apply a nuance to
French nuance, détail
- nuanceminor distinction
- détailminor distinction
- nuancesubtlety or fine detail
- subtilitésubtlety or fine detail
- détaillerto apply a nuance to
German Nuance, Nuance
- Nuanceminor distinction
- Nuancesubtlety or fine detail
- nuancierento apply a nuance to
Greek υπαινιγμός, υπονοούμενο
- υπαινιγμός (ypainigmós)minor distinction
- υπονοούμενο (yponooúmeno)minor distinction
- υπαινιγμός (ypainigmós)subtlety or fine detail
- υπονοούμενο (yponooúmeno)subtlety or fine detail
Hungarian árnyalat, nüánsz
- árnyalatminor distinction
- nüánszminor distinction
Indonesian nuansa, nuansa
- nuansaminor distinction
- nuansasubtlety or fine detail
Italian sfumatura, dettaglio m sottigliezza
- sfumaturaminor distinction
- dettaglio m sottigliezzaminor distinction
- sottigliezzasubtlety or fine detail
- dettagliareto apply a nuance to
Japanese ニュアンス, 意味合い
- ニュアンス (nyuansu)minor distinction
- 意味合い (imiai)minor distinction
- ニュアンス (nyuansu)subtlety or fine detail
- 詳細 (shōsai)subtlety or fine detail
Korean 뉘앙스
- 뉘앙스 (nwiangseu)minor distinction
Norwegian Bokmål nyanse
- nyanseminor distinction
Persian ظرافت, ریزهکاری
- ظرافت (zerâfat)subtlety or fine detail
- ریزهکاری (rize-kâri)subtlety or fine detail
Polish niuans, niuans
- niuansminor distinction
- niuanssubtlety or fine detail
- subtelnośćsubtlety or fine detail
- niuansowaćto apply a nuance to
- zniuansowaćto apply a nuance to
Portuguese nuance, nuança
- nuanceminor distinction
- nuançaminor distinction
- sutilezaminor distinction
- matizminor distinction
- nuancesubtlety or fine detail
- nuançasubtlety or fine detail
- subtilsubtlety or fine detail
Romanian nuanță, nuanțe
- nuanțăminor distinction
- nuanțeminor distinction
Russian нюа́нс, отте́нок
- нюа́нс (njuáns)minor distinction
- отте́нок (otténok)minor distinction
- нюа́нс (njuáns)subtlety or fine detail
- то́нкость (tónkostʹ)subtlety or fine detail
- нюанси́ровать (njuansírovatʹ)to apply a nuance to
Spanish matiz, prestancia
- matizminor distinction
- prestanciaminor distinction
- matizsubtlety or fine detail
- carizsubtlety or fine detail
- pormenorsubtlety or fine detail
- matizarto apply a nuance to
Swedish nyans, nyans
- nyansminor distinction
- nyanssubtlety or fine detail
Turkish nüans, nükte
- nüansminor distinction
- nüktesubtlety or fine detail
Ukrainian нюа́нс, відті́нок
- нюа́нс (njuáns)minor distinction
- відті́нок (vidtínok)minor distinction
- нюансува́ти (njuansuváty)to apply a nuance to
Vietnamese sắc thái
- sắc tháiminor distinction
Cite this entry
nuance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nuance
“nuance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nuance. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nuance,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nuance.
Source: nuance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.