savoir-faire.

Practical or social skill in knowing how to act effectively and appropriately.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• social savoir-faire
• handle with savoir-faire

On the page

Her savoir-faire prevented an awkward silence at the reception.

He handled the difficult negotiation with unexpected savoir-faire.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Uncountable accepted borrowing; no ordinary plural. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.