nuance

Etymology

Borrowed from French nuance (“nuance, shade, hue”).

noun

  1. A minor distinction.
    hidden nuances
  2. Subtlety or fine detail.
    Understanding the basics is easy, but 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...

verb

  1. (transitive) To apply a nuance to; to change or redefine in a subtle way.

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