subtle

sub·tle

 (sŭt′l)

adj. sub·tler, sub·tlest

1.

a. So slight as to be difficult to detect or describe; elusive: a subtle smile.

b. Difficult to understand; abstruse: an argument whose subtle point was lost on her opponent.

2. Able to make fine distinctions: a subtle mind.

3. Operating in a hidden, usually injurious way; insidious: a subtle poison.

4. Archaic

a. Characterized by skill or ingenuity; clever.

b. Crafty or sly; devious.

---

[Middle English sotil, from Old French, from Latin subtīlis; see teks- in Indo-European roots.]

---

sub′tle·ness n.

sub′tly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

subtle

(ˈsʌtəl)

adj

1. not immediately obvious or comprehensible

2. difficult to detect or analyse, often through being delicate or highly refined: a subtle scent.

3. showing or making or capable of showing or making fine distinctions of meaning

4. marked by or requiring mental acuteness or ingenuity; discriminating

5. delicate or faint: a subtle shade.

6. cunning or wily: a subtle rogue.

7. operating or executed in secret: a subtle intrigue.

[C14: from Old French soutil, from Latin subtīlis finely woven]

ˈsubtleness n

ˈsubtly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sub•tle

(ˈsʌt l)

adj. -tler, -tlest.

1. thin, tenuous, or rarefied, as a fluid or an odor.

2. fine or delicate in meaning or intent; difficult to perceive or understand: subtle irony.

3. delicate or faint and mysterious: a subtle smile.

4. characterized by or requiring mental acuteness, penetration, or discernment.

5. cunning, wily, or crafty.

6. insidious in operation: a subtle poison.

7. skillful, clever, or ingenious.

[1250–1300; Middle English sotil < Old French < Latin subtīlis subtile]

sub′tle•ness, n.

sub′tly, adv.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

subtle

• subingression - A subtle or unseen entrance.
• ethereal - First meant "resembling the ether or lightest and most subtle of elements," and now means that something is impalpable or unearthly.
• hard sell, soft sell - Hard sell implies an aggressive approach toward a potential buyer; a soft sell is a more subtle, suggestive approach.
• subtle - Its ultimate source is Latin subtilis, "finely woven," a weaving term, from sub tela, "beneath the lengthwise threads of a loom."

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	subtle - difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze; "his whole attitude had undergone a subtle change"; "a subtle difference"; "that elusive thing the soul" elusive impalpable - imperceptible to the senses or the mind; "an impalpable cloud"; "impalpable shadows"; "impalpable distinctions"; "as impalpable as a dream"
	2.	subtle - able to make fine distinctions; "a subtle mind" perceptive - having the ability to perceive or understand; keen in discernment; "a perceptive eye"; "a perceptive observation"
	3.	subtle - working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way; "glaucoma is an insidious disease"; "a subtle poison" pernicious, insidious harmful - causing or capable of causing harm; "too much sun is harmful to the skin"; "harmful effects of smoking"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

subtle

adjective

1. faint, slight, implied, delicate, indirect, understated, insinuated a subtle hint
faint blatant, obvious

2. crafty, cunning, sly, designing, scheming, intriguing, shrewd, ingenious, astute, devious, wily, artful, Machiavellian He is a subtle character, you know.
crafty straightforward, blunt, downright, artless, guileless, direct, simple, obvious

3. muted, soft, faint, subdued, low-key, toned down subtle shades of brown

4. fine, minute, narrow, tenuous, hair-splitting There was, however, a subtle distinction between the two lawsuits.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

subtle

adjective

1. So slight as to be difficult to notice or appreciate:

delicate, fine, finespun, nice, refined.

2. Able to make or detect effects of great subtlety or precision:

delicate, fine, nice.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

دَقِيقدَقيق، خَفيفذَكي، ماهِر

nepatrnýbystrýjemný

subtilsvagudspekuleret

feinscharfsinnigsubtil

ανεπαίσθητος

sutilagudoperspicaz

hienovarainen

subtilfin

suptilan

körmönfont

daufur, óljós; hárfínnglöggur

sottileastutoperspicacescaltro

微妙な

미묘한

vos juntamas

grūti nosakāmssmalkstikko jaušamsviltīgs

subtiel

spissfindigsubtil

subtelny

subtilsutil

едва различимый

subtil

ซึ่งบอกเป็นนัยๆ

anlaşılması güçbelli belirsizkurnaz

tinh vi

微妙的精明的细微的

subtle

[ˈsʌtl] ADJ (subtler (compar) (subtlest (superl)))

1. (= delicate, fine) [perfume, flavour] → suave, sutil; [colour] → tenue; [charm, beauty, nuance, reminder, person] → sutil; [humour, irony] → sutil, fino
the subtle fragrance of the violet → la suave fragancia or la fragancia sutil de la violeta
a subtle hint of pink → un ligero toque de rosa
there's a subtle difference between these two words → hay una diferencia sutil entre estas dos palabras
she was never very subtle → nunca fue muy sutil
it was a subtle form of racism → era una forma sutil de racismo

2. (= perceptive) [person] → perspicaz, agudo; [mind] → sutil, agudo; [analysis] → ingenioso

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

subtle

[ˈsʌt^əl] adj

(= not very noticeable) [difference, distinction, changes] → subtil(e)

(= clever) [person, character, manner, mind, plan] → subtil(e)

(= delicate) [flavour, scent, shade] → subtil(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

subtle

adj

(= delicate, gentle) → fein; irony, distinction → fein, subtil (geh); perfume, flavour → zart, fein; hint, allusion → zart, leise; charm → leise, unaufdringlich

(= ingenious, not obvious) remark, argument, point → scharfsinnig, spitzfindig; problem → subtil; pressure → sanft; design, construction, proof → raffiniert, fein ausgedacht or ausgetüftelt (inf); he has a very subtle mind → er ist ein sehr subtiler Denker (geh); be subtle about it → gehen Sie mit Zartgefühl vor

(= quick at seeing fine distinctions) observer, critic → aufmerksam, subtil (geh)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

subtle

[ˈsʌtl] adj (gen) → sottile; (flavour, perfume) → delicato/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

subtle

(ˈsatl) adjective

1. faint or delicate in quality, and therefore difficult to describe or explain. There is a subtle difference between `unnecessary' and `not necessary'; a subtle flavour. subtiel دَقيق، خَفيف едва доловим sutil nepatrný, jemný fein svag; raffineret λεπτός, μικρός, απροσδιόριστοςsutil peen, õhkõrn نامحسوس hienoinen subtilעדין सूक्ष्म, अतिसूक्ष्म fin, nježan finom halus daufur, óljós; hárfínn sottile 微妙な 미세한 subtilus, vos juntamas, švelnus smalks; tikko jaušams; grūti nosakāms tidak ketara subtielsvak, subtil, spissfindigsubtelny, delikatny نه محسوس کیدل subtil sub­til тонкий; едва различный nepatrný, jemný komaj opazen suptilan subtil, hårfin ละเอียด ; แนบเนียน anlaşılması güç 細微的 тонкий; ледь відчутний ہلکا، نازک không dễ phát hiện 细微的

2. clever or cunning. He has a subtle mind. slim ذَكي، ماهِر хитър sutil bystrý scharfsinnig udspekuleret οξυδερκής, κοφτερός agudo, perspicaz; inteligente; astuto terav هوشمندانه ovela fin מְתוּחכָּם निपुण, दक्ष, प्रवीण oštrouman, pronicav körmönfont cerdik glöggur sottile, acuto 鋭敏な 영리한 aštrus, įžvalgus smalks; viltīgs licik spitsvondigskarpbystry په هوښیاری سره subtil rafi­nat острый bystrý premeten suptilan skarpsinnig ฉลาด ; หลักแหลม kurnaz 精明的 хитрий, підступний چالاک tinh vi, tinh tế 精明的

subtlety (ˈsatlti) noun

subtiliteit دِقَّه، رِقَّه، ذَكاء، مَهارَه неуловимост sutileza jemnost die Feinheit udspekulerethed λεπτότητα, φινέτσαsutileza peenus بطرز هوشمندانه hienoisuus subtilitéתחכום निपुर्णतापूर्वक finoća, domišljatost finomság; ravaszság kecerdikan það að vera óljós/hárfínn; kænska sottigliezza 微妙さ 미세함 subtilumas smalkums; viltība dengan licik subtiliteit, spitsvondigheidfinurlighet; skarpsindighet delikatność د هوښیارتیا په ډول subtileza subtilitate тонкость; острота jemnosť nežnost, prefinjenost suptilnost subtilitet ความบอบบาง kurnazlık 細，微妙 тонкість; хитрість لطافت sự tinh vi 细微，微妙

ˈsubtly adverb

subtiel بِدِقَّه، بِذكاء، بِمَهارَه умело sutilmente slabounce fein svagt; raffineret λεπτά, έξυπναsutilmente delikaatselt هوشمندي hienoisesti subtilement בְּתִחכּום सूक्ष्म रूप से fino, istančano finoman, elmésen, ravaszul secara cerdik glögglega; fínlega sottilmente 微妙に 미세하게 subtiliai smalki; viltīgi sifat tidak ketara subtiel, spitsvondighårfint; skarpsindig delikatnie هوښیارتیا subtilmente (în mod) subtil тонко; остро slabučko nežno suptilno subtilt อย่างบอบบาง; อย่างหลักแหลม kurnazca 精明地 тонко; ледве вловимо لطافت سے tinh vi, tinh tế, khó thấy 精明地

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

subtle

→ دَقِيق nepatrný subtil fein ανεπαίσθητος sutil hienovarainen subtil suptilan sottile 微妙な 미묘한 subtiel subtil subtelny subtil, sutil едва различимый subtil ซึ่งบอกเป็นนัยๆ belli belirsiz tinh vi 微妙的

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

subtile

, subtle

a. sutil, delicado-a; inadvertido-a, desapercibido-a.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012