Learn English – The word ‘nuance’ used in context of politics/politicans

meaning

I often see the word 'nuance' used when describing a politicians views. One example of this in a sentence is that "This person lacks nuance." I'm having trouble understanding this in the context of the main definition which is "a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound." Is there a separate meaning when used in this context?

Here are some other examples: https://www.google.com/search?q=trump+nuance

Best Answer

When applied to a person, it means the person lacks the ability to distinguish nuance (and thus make good judgements). If applied to the views, the views indicate the person's lack of ability to distinguish nuance.

It may be stretching the dictionary definition to apply it to people and views rather than the quality itself, but that's how it is used.

Related Topic