subtle
Americanadjective
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subtler,
comparative
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subtlest
superlative
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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
Derived Forms
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hypersubtlenessnoun
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nonsubtlenessnoun
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subtlenessnoun
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unsubtlenessnoun
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hypersubtleadjective
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nonsubtleadjective
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oversubtleadjective
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pseudosubtleadjective
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unsubtleadjective
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subtlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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 ); see subtile
Explanation
Something that is subtle is not obvious: a professional food taster might be able to perceive subtle differences of flavor that most people don't notice. Subtle is used for things that are hard to describe because of their complexity or delicacy: a way of thinking, arguing, or creating a work of art. The word is pronounced like "suttle" and it was originally spelled that way when it was borrowed from Old French, but the b got imported to make the word look more like its ultimate source, the Latin adjective subtilis. But don't pronounce the b — that won't be very subtle!
Vocabulary lists containing subtle
100 Top "SAT" Words
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Latin Root "sub" Words
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The Silent Treatment: Words Plagued by Silent Letters
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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.
See Examples For:
Even Henry Kissinger was more subtle than that.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
The house is semi-secluded against a lush hill, beneath the actual Mulholland Drive, and has a subtle chevron pattern detail that runs throughout the house, similar to the floor of the “Twin Peaks” red room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Every inch of this house-shaped book contributes to the subtle spookiness of our tale, starting with the cover.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
"Within that loop we found subtle, yet consistent, clues to its behavior."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Not working hard and not caring—even theft—were subtle types of rebellion, the only ways for enslaved people to fight back.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
The tension emerges from something subtler: the struggle to define terms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
It remains to be seen whether “Kitchen Undercover” will rely on prosthetics, fake mustaches or merely the subtler costume of the unrecognized employee.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
What draws him most is subtler than that.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
She displayed “Poppy,” a squeegee abstract in cheery red and blue hues, in her living room, with an untitled version in subtler white and green hues from 2009 hanging in her bedroom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
It remains to be proved; Estraven and I proved nothing except perhaps a rather subtler point.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Inflation is one of the economy’s most important vital signs and one of the subtlest to measure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
His 2021 restaurant memory drama “Pig” gave Nicolas Cage his subtlest dialogue in years, while “A Quiet Place: Day One” had no business being as believably haunted as it was.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
Throughout the history of American music, blues, jazz and soul singers have used the jazzy quaver for the subtlest nuances of emotion: for tension, playfulness, defiance, flirtatiousness, ache or just blithe ornamentation.
From New York Times ● May 10, 2024
"Blinks are one of the subtlest of human movements, so designing mechanisms that can mimic these movements require advanced technology, such as high-precision motors," Ms Kiilavuori explains.
From BBC ● May 4, 2023
It’s people like Hoagland who call you up at odd hours of the night to tell you something you absolutely need to know, practicing on you the subtlest form of sleep deprivation.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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.
