subtile
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- nonsubtile adjective
- nonsubtilely adverb
- nonsubtileness noun
- subtilely adverb
- subtileness noun
- subtility noun
- subtilty noun
Etymology
Origin of subtile
1325–75; Middle English < Latin subtīlis fine (originally of fabric), equivalent to sub- sub- + -tīlis, akin to tēla cloth on a loom, loom (< *tekslā, derivative of texere to weave; see text)
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.
Recent scientific discoveries have conferred upon man new powers of investigation, whereby nature has been made to reveal secrets so subtile that they never had been dreamt of before in philosophy.
From Scientific American • Jan. 13, 2013
At Paris the Universe is seen, compos’d of Vortices of subtile Matter; but nothing like it is seen in London.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Of a more subtile wit and a finer grain was Harte, who did his best work as a humorist in California.
From A Breeze from the Woods, 2nd Ed. by Bartlett, William Chauncey
Whence comes this man with his new poetry, which confounds the critics? and that man with his subtile wit borrowed from no school?
From A Breeze from the Woods, 2nd Ed. by Bartlett, William Chauncey
Man's daintiest care, & caution cannot spy The subtile point of his coy destiny, Wch way it threats.
From The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, Volume I (of 2) by Crashaw, Richard
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.
