subtle
Americanadjective
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thin, tenuous, or rarefied, as a fluid or an odor.
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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.
But pianist and singer Allen Toussaint, who wrote it—and who composed, arranged and produced hits for an astonishingly broad list of artists—meant it as something subtler.
The result is a subtle but significant rewrite of how consumer commerce works in the world’s largest online retail market.
From Barron's
A subtle wave of shame rises — small but persistent — cresting as you imagine your child saying, or your partner thinking, “We’re having this again?”
From Salon
As an “SCTV” early adopter, O’Hara was first attractive to me because she was funny, but she was also beautiful — a beauty she could subvert by a subtle or broad rearrangement of her features.
From Los Angeles Times
Moreover, artistic influence is too complex and subtle to be understood so narrowly.
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.
