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subtly

[suht-l]

Example Sentences Origin

adjective, -tler, -tlest.

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

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

delicate or faint and mysterious: a subtle smile.

requiring mental acuteness, penetration, or discernment: a subtle philosophy.

characterized by mental acuteness or penetration: a subtle understanding.

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cunning, wily, or crafty: a subtle liar.

insidious in operation: subtle poison.

skillful, clever, or ingenious: a subtle painter.

COLLAPSE

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English sotil < Old French < Latin subtīlis subtile (b of modern spelling < L)

Related forms

sub·tle·ness, noun

sub·tly, adverb

hy·per·sub·tle, adjective

hy·per·sub·tle·ness, noun

non·sub·tle, adjective

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non·sub·tle·ness, noun

non·sub·t·ly, adverb

o·ver·sub·tle, adjective

o·ver·sub·tly, adverb

pseu·do·sub·tle, adjective

pseu·do·sub·t·ly, adverb

un·sub·tle, adjective

un·sub·tle·ness, noun

un·sub·t·ly, adverb

COLLAPSE

Synonyms
6. sly, tricky, foxy, slick.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To subtly

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Subtly is always a great word to know.

So is ort. Does it mean:

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

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Example Sentences

One was the long day dress in fluid jersey that subtly caresses the body.

But job seekers do need to subtly raise issues that they fear could lead to problems for them in that workplace.

As the crowds swelled, their skin colour grew subtly darker.

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One was the long day dress in fluid jersey that subtly caresses the body.

But job seekers do need to subtly raise issues that they fear could lead to problems for them in that workplace.

As the crowds swelled, their skin colour grew subtly darker.

They shift body weight subtly or adjust tails and limbs to steer a controlled flight path through the canopy labyrinth.

How that early bond subtly shapes decisions and moods.

Hals recognized that the human face has two halves and the expression on one side differs subtly from the expression on the other.

The soft gray walls and mushroom-colored concrete counters subtly complement the tile.

The changes weren't huge, but each of them subtly altered the flow of conversation.

And designer serving pieces subtly let those beauties speak for themselves.

The bully with improved social skills won't cease threatening you, but rather will threaten you more subtly.

In some ways, a repeat of this pattern seems likely, though for reasons subtly different from those that mattered in the past.

White throat subtly blends to pearly gray chest and yellow belly.

But other chemicals produced by the human body more subtly tweak the neural pathways underlying these distinctions.

We always knew which one he liked the best as it had slightly more rendering and subtly more magic.

Champagne tastes less of fruit and more subtly of the earth from which it came.

Bats can subtly adjust the frequency of the sounds they use to do echolocation to adjust to particularly cluttered terrain.

Subtly challenging them, their tutor tried to convey to them his confidence in their learning ability.

Just subtly promise to respect everybody and not change a thing.

Yet whoever administers the underlying infrastructure can subtly impose their values.

Its splendor lies partly in the masterful glazed tile work, the colors of which change subtly with the light.

He immediately returned the gesture, opening his mouth and subtly but distinctly moving his tongue.

There are subtly different sounds for flipping to the next page and for going to the previous one, too.

IT corrals all the subtly and finesse of the stampede of professional sports in world pop culture.

The same birds ignored subtly different calls warning of leopards, which do not tend to prey on the birds.

Humankind's lengthy survival may have depended upon self-inflicted population control as painted subtly by our history.

The super-glossy front is subtly outfitted with touch-sensitive softkeys below the screen, and the tiniest optical trackpad.

They were all so similar and yet they were also all subtly different.

Accents are only the tip of the iceberg in the subtly nuanced differences there are in various cultures.

To solve such problems, the designers must subtly direct player movement by altering the world in small ways.

Behaviour is far easier to subtly modify that it is to create entirely new behaviours.

And although they seem quite similar in spirit, action sheets and behaviors are subtly different in their implementations.

The purple sneakers subtly hint at my sensitive side.

New colors or tones can be subtly added or removed, to cover up for the changes.

Furthermore, it is prone to a subtly disturbing oscillation known to audio engineers as wow.

And don't forget advertising, which the search engine has to integrate as subtly and helpfully as possible.

Smith has ideas for subtly touching the world around us.

Even better, try subtly adjusting the spelling of your victim's name.

Combinations of categories that contradict our biases should subtly slow our reaction times.

At first, the water molecules are subtly impaled on the tiny spikes of the lotus leaf.

All it requires is sitting in front of a computer and using a program that subtly alters harmful thought patterns.

At first the rebellion subtly impinges on the daily lives of people who try to ignore.

The army is being subtly courted, with ministerial positions for former generals.

Interspersed between moments of destruction are a series of short messages and subtly linked images.

If you are baking, making a delicate sauce or cooking subtly seasoned foods, you will have more success using clarified butter.

Both men and women were more likely to subtly penalize women who.

Thrift has to be embraced as an affirmative good, not an evil that economist make it out to be, not so subtly.

Yes, amplification is used, but it's subtly handled.

Sometimes the language of the listing subtly makes it clear, in my field.

Cashless machines also subtly encourage people to play.

It is now subtly painted with silhouettes of trees that only add to the mood of peace.

Some of that cash may subtly undermine reforms elsewhere.

Her subtly inflected gestures are never literal but always expressive.

I'd raise my hand in favor of the proposition that learning economics can subtly damage one's ethics.

Soon changes in the gang's activities are subtly made.

The reasoning is subtly different than in your case.

Moran's team developed their technique with a focus on subtly different forms of carbon, called isotopes.

For the top he adds subtly hued, multicolored, finger-wide strokes.

Randall subtly changes the way readers see the house and the people who lived and worked there.

Ever so subtly it says volumes about war and people.

Another proposed signal is voice, which some studies suggest changes subtly but detectably during high- and low-risk fertile.

The whole shell is crafted from smooth plastic, but the fat spine is subtly textured with raised bumps to it give some grip.

Their brains may thus have developed in subtly different ways.

Unlocking and sleeping the iPod now make subtly different padlock-type.

But it's quite another for him to subtly reinterpret the aims of a war.

There are dozens of these quotes, and they subtly reinforce the book's direction.

The fact that it's animal focused and attempts to subtly teach kids about habitats and lifecycles is also appreciated.

Our landscapes have been both subtly and demonstratively worked over by our ancestors.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

subtle (ˈsʌt^əl)

—*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]

'subtleness

—n

'subtly

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

subtle

c.1300, sutel, soutil, in ref. to things, "of thin consistency;" in ref. to craftsmen, "skilled, clever," from O.Fr. soutil, from L. subtilis "fine, thin, delicate, finely woven," from sub "under" + -tilis, from tela "web" and texere "to weave" (see texture). The spelling

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with -b- reflects confusion with subtile. Most non-material senses were present by late 14c.

COLLAPSE

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Matching Quote

"The finest works of art are precious, among other reasons, because they make it possible for us to know, if only imperfectly and for a little while, what it actually feels like to think subtly and feel nobly."

-Aldous Huxley

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