delicate
fine in texture, quality, construction, etc.: a delicate lace collar.
so fine as to be scarcely perceptible; subtle: a delicate flavor.
soft or faint, as color: a delicate shade of pink.
fine or precise in action or execution; capable of responding to the slightest influence: a delicate instrument.
requiring great care, caution, or tact: a delicate international situation.
distinguishing subtle differences: a delicate eye;a delicate sense of smell.
exquisite or refined in perception or feeling; sensitive.
regardful of what is becoming, proper, etc.: a delicate sense of propriety.
mindful of or sensitive to the feelings of others: a delicate refusal.
dainty or choice, as food: delicate tidbits.
primly fastidious; squeamish: not a movie for the delicate viewer.
Obsolete. sensuous; voluptuous.
Archaic. a choice food; delicacy.
Obsolete. a source of pleasure; luxury.
Origin of delicate
1synonym study For delicate
Other words for delicate
2 | breakable, brittle, flimsy, frangible, weak; feeble, slight, tender |
5 | exact, precise, accurate, true |
6 | sensitive, touchy, tricky |
7 | discerning, discriminating, perceptive |
Opposites for delicate
Other words from delicate
- del·i·cate·ly, adverb
- del·i·cate·ness, noun
- hy·per·del·i·cate, adjective
- hy·per·del·i·cate·ness, noun
- non·del·i·cate, adjective
- non·del·i·cate·ness, noun
- qua·si-del·i·cate, adjective
- su·per·del·i·cate, adjective
- su·per·del·i·cate·ness, noun
Words Nearby delicate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use delicate in a sentence
Trimming nose hairs is delicate, personal business, and the Norelco has that firmly in mind.
Electronics and exercise gear that make excellent gifts | PopSci Commerce Team | October 8, 2020 | Popular-ScienceThe sheer glass makes for a delicate and unique way to display plants.
These hanging planters bring life to your space | PopSci Commerce Team | October 8, 2020 | Popular-ScienceThere’s an air intake on each side, and the entire back of the machine is vented to funnel hot air away from the delicate components inside.
The demo showed it stacking several delicate wine glasses on top of each other on an unfamiliar surface.
Toyota’s robotic butler will serve you from the ceiling | Stan Horaczek | October 3, 2020 | Popular-ScienceWorse, he said, is that he had spent years digging and rigging holes to water cattle based on where rain pools, a delicate system that would be jeopardized by trenching and construction.
It’s His Land. Now a Canadian Company Gets to Take It. | by Lee van der Voo for ProPublica | October 1, 2020 | ProPublica
The scenes between Johansson and Adam Pearson, a man with neurofibromatosis, are some of the most delicate and visceral this year.
Oscars 2015: The Daily Beast’s Picks, From Scarlett Johansson to ‘Boyhood’ | Marlow Stern | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTShe used electrolysis to banish the prickly hair from her delicate face.
It's about the delicate fabric of the universe and how our fragile insides crumble when that fabric is torn.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFor those with a predilection for immaculately fine and delicate paintings by Botticelli, his Madonna of the Book will satisfy.
Its spine, too, “‘hubbed’ as the most prized European classics are,” is decorated with delicate gold squiggles and a star.
The flowers grow in clusters from the extremities of the stalk; they are yellow externally and of a delicate red within.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.This Captain Kirton was really the best of the Kirton bunch: a quiet, unassuming young man, somewhat delicate in health.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodIsabel had a glimpse of a delicate high-bred face set like a panel in a parted curtain.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonIndifferent health, for he was delicate too, was one of the bonds between us.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowNot to smoke at all in the presence of a superior, is held the most delicate homage which can be paid him.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.
British Dictionary definitions for delicate
/ (ˈdɛlɪkɪt) /
exquisite, fine, or subtle in quality, character, construction, etc
having a soft or fragile beauty
(of colour, tone, taste, etc) pleasantly subtle, soft, or faint
easily damaged or injured; lacking robustness, esp in health; fragile
precise, skilled, or sensitive in action or operation: a delicate mechanism
requiring tact and diplomacy
sensitive in feeling or manner; showing regard for the feelings of others
excessively refined; squeamish
archaic a delicacy; dainty
Origin of delicate
1Derived forms of delicate
- delicately, adverb
- delicateness, noun
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
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