delicacy

[ del-i-kuh-see ]

/ ˈdɛl ɪ kə si /

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See synonyms for: delicacy / delicacies on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural del·i·ca·cies.

fineness of texture, quality, etc.; softness; daintiness: the delicacy of lace.

something delightful or pleasing, especially a choice food considered with regard to its rarity, costliness, or the like: Caviar is a great delicacy.

the quality of being easily broken or damaged; fragility.

the quality of requiring or involving great care or tact: negotiations of great delicacy.

extreme sensitivity; precision of action or operation; minute accuracy: the delicacy of a skillful surgeon's touch; a watch mechanism of unusual delicacy.

fineness of perception or feeling; sensitiveness: the delicacy of the pianist's playing.

fineness of feeling with regard to what is fitting, proper, etc.: Delicacy would not permit her to be rude.

sensitivity with regard to the feelings of others: She criticized him with such delicacy that he was not offended.

bodily weakness; liability to sickness; frailty.

Linguistics. (especially in systemic linguistics) the degree of minuteness pursued at a given stage of analysis in specifying distinctions in linguistic description.

Obsolete. sensuous indulgence; luxury.

OTHER WORDS FOR delicacy

5 sensitivity, discrimination; prudence, consideration, circumspection.

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OPPOSITES FOR delicacy

1, 6 coarseness.

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Origin of delicacy

First recorded in 1325–75, delicacy is from the Middle English word delicasie.See delicate, -cy

OTHER WORDS FROM delicacy

hy·per·del·i·ca·cy, noun

Words nearby delicacy

deliberate, deliberately, deliberation, deliberative, Delibes, delicacy, delicate, delicately, delicatessen, Delicia, delicious

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use delicacy in a sentence

Not content to just mass-produce lab-grown fish fillets, it has focused on developing prized delicacies, especially fish maw.
I Tried Lab-Grown Fish Maw. Here's Why It Could Help Save Our Oceans|Amy Gunia/Hong Kong|September 17, 2021|Time
Enjoy the local delicacy with this summery cocktail that uses TINCUP’s bourbon, which is aged for 10 years.
Add These 5 Backcountry Lodges to Your Adventure Bucket List|elessard|August 12, 2021|Outside Online
It was a delicacy from the gods in order to not go to sleep hungry, which is one of the worst sensations in life.
Locked up in the Land of Liberty: Part II|Michael K. Lavers|July 14, 2021|Washington Blade
She next took on four papers that had been rapidly published early in 2020, two of them in Nature, describing viruses in pangolins—endangered scale-covered mammals sometimes eaten as delicacies in China—that shared similarities to SARS-CoV-2.
They called it a conspiracy theory. But Alina Chan tweeted life into the idea that the virus came from a lab.|Antonio Regalado|June 25, 2021|MIT Technology Review

The latter work’s delicacy, typical of Yamaguchi’s style, is infused here with new urgency.
In the galleries: Images focus on the future of the planet|Mark Jenkins|May 28, 2021|Washington Post
At the time, the island had not yet been named after the delicacy, and went by the decidedly less fantastical Twickenham Ait.
The Isle Where the Rolling Stones Began|Nina Strochlic|September 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
C, lastly, I just think [Perritaz] has a natural taste for purity, delicacy, and ethereal balance.
Wine, Watch Out! These Ciders Are Just as Good|Jordan Salcito|July 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His hilarious parody-fable, “A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig,” traces the supposed genesis of that culinary delicacy.
Phillip Lopate’s Book Bag: The Essay Tradition|Phillip Lopate|February 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In their scenes, there is delicacy, there is love, and there is hope.
‘Downton Abbey’ Season 3: Julian Fellowes, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, and More|Jace Lacob|January 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
St. Peter Damian damned her for “excessive delicacy” in preferring such a rarefied implement to her God-given hands.
The Strange Way We Eat: Bee Wilson’s ‘Consider the Fork’|Bee Wilson|October 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Flowers, fruits, and insects were her favorite subjects, and were painted with rare delicacy.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
I think that he had more virtuosity, and yet more delicacy of feeling, than either Rubinstein or Blow.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
The officer, with less delicacy of attention to the supposed slumbers of an invalid, followed him.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Many of these pipes are sculptured from the most obdurate stones and display great delicacy of workmanship.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
He evidently avoided taking a share in the discussion of his Transatlantic career, probably from delicacy to his English auditor.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various

British Dictionary definitions for delicacy

delicacy

/ (ˈdɛlɪkəsɪ) /

noun plural -cies

fine or subtle quality, character, construction, etcdelicacy of craftsmanship

fragile, soft, or graceful beauty

something that is considered choice to eat, such as caviar

fragile construction or constitution; frailty

refinement of feeling, manner, or appreciationthe delicacy of the orchestra's playing

fussy or squeamish refinement, esp in matters of taste, propriety, etc

need for tactful or sensitive handling

accuracy or sensitivity of response or operation, as of an instrument

(in systemic grammar) the level of detail at which a linguistic description is made; the degree of fine distinction in a linguistic description

obsolete gratification, luxury, or voluptuousness

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

delicacy

OTHER WORDS FOR delicacy

OPPOSITES FOR delicacy

Origin of delicacy

OTHER WORDS FROM delicacy

Words nearby delicacy

Words related to delicacy

How to use delicacy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for delicacy