| Main Entry: | finesse |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | know-how, maneuver |
Synonyms: |
acumen, adeptness, adroitness, artfulness, artifice, big stick, bluff, cleverness, competence, con, craft, craftiness, cunning, delicacy, diplomacy, discernment, discretion, feint, gimmick, grift, guile, polish, quickness, racket, run-around, ruse, savoir-faire, savvy, skill, sophistication, stratagem, subtlety, tact, trick, wile |
Antonyms: |
ignorance |
| Main Entry: | finesse |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | maneuver, manipulate |
Synonyms: |
angle, beguile, bluff, exploit, finagle, jockey, operate, play, play games, pull strings, pull wires, rig, wangle |
Antonyms: |
bobble, mishandle |
| Main Entry: | ability |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | natural or acquired power in a |
Synonyms: |
adroitness, bent, capability, cleverness, command, craft, deftness, expertise, expertness, finesse, flair, genius, gift, handiness, ingenuity, knack, know-how, mastery, mind for, particular activity adeptness, proficiency, savvy, skill, skillfulness, strength, talent, the goods, the right stuff, what it takes |
| Notes: | applied to a person, ability and capacity mean about the same thing but are grammatically different: an ability to do something, a capacity for doing something; ability is qualitative while capacity is quantitative |
Antonyms: |
clumsiness, ignorance, inability, inadequacy, inanity, incompetence, stupidity, weakness |
| Main Entry: | artifice |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | skill, cleverness |
Synonyms: |
ability, adroitness, deftness, facility, finesse, ingenuity, invention, inventiveness, know-how, skill |
Antonyms: |
artlessness, inability, incapacity, simplicity, uncleverness |
| Main Entry: | artistry |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | great skill in creative endeavors |
Synonyms: |
ability, accomplishment, artfulness, brilliance, craftship, creativity, finesse, flair, genius, mastery, proficiency, style, talent, taste, touch, virtuosity, workmanship |
Antonyms: |
inability, incapacity, ineptitude |
| Main Entry: | beguile |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | fool |
Synonyms: |
betray, bluff, burn*, cheat, chisel, con, deceive, delude, double-cross, dupe, entice, exploit, finesse, flimflam, gyp, have, hoodwink*, impose on, jockey, juggle, lure, manipulate, mislead, play, play for a sucker, rook, rope in, scam, seduce, shave, snow*, stick*, string along, suck in, take, take in, trick |
| Main Entry: | bypass |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | avoid |
Synonyms: |
blink at, burke, circumnavigate, circumvent, depart from, detour, deviate from, finesse, get around, go around, go around the barn, ignore, let go, neglect, omit, outflank, pass around, sidestep, skirt, take back road, wink at |
| Main Entry: | device |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | ploy, scheme, maneuver |
Synonyms: |
artifice, cabal, chicanery, clever move, craft, craftiness, cunningness, design, dodge, evasion, expedient, fake, feint, finesse, gambit, game, gimmick, improvisation, loophole, machination, method, pattern, plan, plot, project, proposition, purpose, racket, ruse, shift, stratagem, strategy, stunt, subterfuge, trap, trick, wile |
| Main Entry: | dexterity |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | aptitude, ability |
Synonyms: |
address, adroitness, aptness, art, artistry, cleverness, craft, cunning, deftness, effortlessness, expertise, expertness, facility, finesse, handiness, ingenuity, knack, know-how, mastery, neatness, nimbleness, proficiency, readiness, skill, skillfulness, smoothness, tact, touch |
Antonyms: |
awkwardness, clumsiness, inability, ineptness |
| Main Entry: | diplomacy |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | tact |
Synonyms: |
address, artfulness, craft, delicacy, delicatesse, discretion, expedience, finesse, negotiation, poise, politics, savoir-faire, skill, statecraft, subtlety |
Antonyms: |
bad manners, impoliteness, rudeness |