subtle
Americanadjective
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thin, tenuous, or rarefied, as a fluid or an odor.
-
fine or delicate in meaning or intent; difficult to perceive or understand.
subtle irony.
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delicate or faint and mysterious.
a subtle smile.
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requiring mental acuteness, penetration, or discernment.
a subtle philosophy.
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characterized by mental acuteness or penetration.
a subtle understanding.
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cunning, wily, or crafty.
a subtle liar.
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insidious in operation.
subtle poison.
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skillful, clever, or ingenious.
a subtle painter.
adjective
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not immediately obvious or comprehensible
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difficult to detect or analyse, often through being delicate or highly refined
a subtle scent
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showing or making or capable of showing or making fine distinctions of meaning
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marked by or requiring mental acuteness or ingenuity; discriminating
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delicate or faint
a subtle shade
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cunning or wily
a subtle rogue
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operating or executed in secret
a subtle intrigue
Other Word Forms
- hypersubtle adjective
- hypersubtleness noun
- nonsubtle adjective
- nonsubtleness noun
- oversubtle adjective
- pseudosubtle adjective
- subtleness noun
- subtly adverb
- unsubtle adjective
- unsubtleness noun
Etymology
Origin of subtle
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sotil, from Old French, from Latin subtīlis “subtile” (the b of modern spelling is from Latin ); subtile
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Everything was shot in vertical mode, and nothing was subtle.
From BBC
This subtle difference changes Saturn's precession rate so that it no longer aligns with Neptune's.
From Science Daily
That distinction — subtle but profound — may define the next phase for the world’s second-largest consumer market.
From MarketWatch
Newsboy caps, button-down vests and a predominance of subtle plaids recalled "Peaky Blinders", while pocket watch chains consolidated the 1920s feel.
From Barron's
By analyzing these subtle changes in radio signals, the team was able to map how the magnetic field is arranged across vast stretches of the galaxy.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
