tour de force

noun

ˌtu̇r-də-ˈfȯrs 

plural tours de force ˌtu̇r-də-ˈfȯrs 

: a feat or display of strength, skill, or ingenuity

the movie is a comic tour de force

Synonyms

• deed
• exploit
• feat
• number
• stunt
• trick

Examples of tour de force in a Sentence

The book is a tour de force.

Her performance in the play was a real tour de force.

Recent Examples on the Web

Snook gives a tour de force performance, juggling 26 characters differentiated by admirable physical and vocal transformations. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 28 Mar. 2025

Critic’s Pick Playing all the characters in an update of Chekhov, the Irish actor turns what could be merely a stunt into a tour de force. —Jesse Green, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2025

But the heart of the book is her tour de force march through 21st-century German and European politics and history. —The Know, The Denver Post, 2 Mar. 2025

Constantine isn’t a total tour de force, but that’s also a big part of the joy of the movie and what leaves me unmoved by all the talk of a sequel. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French

First Known Use

1802, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tour de force

• counterforce
• intercourse
• nonrecourse
• reinforce
• watercourse
• bourse
• coarse
• course
• gorse
• hoarse
• horse
• norse