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.
The subtle visual giveaways included a row of cars parked in identical positions in both the authentic satellite photo and the manipulated image.
From Barron's
Once those visual effects were corrected, the subtle streaks left by the "cosmic snowballs" began to appear.
From Science Daily
Instead, they face a subtle squeeze: slower volume growth, narrower pricing spreads, and more aggressive competition from retailers’ own labels.
From Barron's
This analysis revealed subtle roughness at the interfaces of these channels.
From Science Daily
While studying patients with liver tumors, the scientists noticed that some individuals with fibrosis or cirrhosis showed mostly normal fragmentation profiles but contained subtle DNA signals linked to disease.
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.
