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When you allude to something or someone, often events or characters from literature or history, you refer to them in an indirect way.
If a word or behavior connotes something, it suggests an additional idea or emotion that is not part of its original literal meaning.
Something that is divisive is likely to cause arguments between people.
Someone who is erudite is steeped in knowledge because they have read and studied extensively.
Something esoteric is known about or understood by very few people.
If you evince particular feelings, qualities, or attitudes, you show them, often clearly.
If you use words in a figurative way, they have an abstract or symbolic meaning beyond their literal interpretation.
A gamut is a complete range of things of a particular type or the full extent of possibilities of some experience or action.
A gradation is a series of successive small differences or changes in something that add up to an overall major change; this word can also refer to a degree or step in that series of changes.
Hackneyed words, images, ideas, or sayings have been used so often that they no longer seem interesting or amusing.
If an idea or thought is incisive, it is expressed in a penetrating and knowledgeable manner that is clear and brief; additionally, it can demonstrate impressive understanding of related ideas or thoughts.
If someone makes an insinuation, they say something bad or unpleasant in a sly and indirect way.
Something that is mundane is very ordinary and not interesting or exciting, especially because it happens very often.
If someone is objective, they base their opinions on facts rather than personal feelings or beliefs.
An overt act is not hidden or secret but is done in an open and public way.
A patent situation is one that is wide open and unconcealed; it is both evident and obvious.
If you describe something as pedestrian, you think that it is ordinary and not interesting.
Someone who demonstrates perspicacity notices or understands things very quickly.
A platitude is an unoriginal statement that has been used so many times that it is considered almost meaningless and pointless, even though it is presented as important.
When someone exhibits profundity, they display great intellectual depth and understanding; profundity can also be the depth or complexity of something.
Something prosaic is dull, boring, and ordinary.
Recondite areas of knowledge are those that are very difficult to understand and/or are not known by many people.
The word semantic is used to describe that which pertains to meaning, especially the meaning of words and phrases.
Something that is sinuous is shaped or moves like a snake, having many smooth twists and turns that can often be highly graceful.
If you refer to something as a trifle, you mean that it is of little or no importance or value.
Noun
nuance
NOO-ahns
Context
Marcello could tell by the slight change or nuance in Maxine’s tone of voice that she was annoyed with him. She usually kissed his cheek warmly when he helped her with her coat, but tonight Maxine pecked his cheek with a little less warmth than usual, an uncharacteristic nuance or shift. Maxine had a slight edge in her voice as they chatted over dinner; Marcello realized that this small difference or nuance in her tone must mean something, but he just couldn’t figure out what. Her social nuances or implied shades of meaning this evening were just too fine to understand.
Quiz:Try again!
What is an example of a nuance?
A brightly colored painting that stands out in a room painted entirely white.
A slight change in pitch that a singer deliberately makes during a song.
An accidental meeting between two people that leads to a lifelong friendship.
New Stance Each time that Jayme reread the poem, she discovered yet another subtle nuance that gave the deeply layered poem yet another expressive new stance, adding to its already profound meaning.
Examples
Humans evolved to survive by communicating and responding to cues, down to minuscule shifts in tone and expression. Each stage of separation in communications—from in-person to video to phone to email to text—strips away more of those nuances and cues, increasing the risk of misunderstandings and conflict.
—
The Washington Post
Nuance is something that _Woven in Moonlight_ seems to care about very deeply. What [begins] as a clear-cut tale of a girl seeking revenge and restoration for a generation of wrongs soon blossoms into something much more quicksilver and subtle.
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NPR
[W]hen someone promises a smoother and easier translation program, people around the world tend to perk up their ears. . . . Google’s apparent success suggests that a new approach to translation—fancy math rather than linguistic know-how—may be the way forward in a field that has struggled with the nuance and ambiguity of human language.
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The Christian Science Monitor
"Frankly, even though I realize I'm a public figure, I don’t think I need to go into every nuance of my private life," the 73-year-old Olson said at a televised 48-minute news conference at McKale Center.
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ESPN
As “clouds” create “shade,” so too does a nuance indicate a subtle “shade” of meaning.
Word Theater
Star Trek The Next Generation Data assures her that the nuances she is worrying about were far from obvious.
The panel shows a small video clip of either the word in actual use or a scene that represents the meaning of a word. This not only breaks up the monotony of studying words but also provides another avenue to strengthen word meaning. Enjoy!
