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Definition: Subtle |
SubtleAdjective1. Be difficult to detect or grasp by the mind; "his whole attitude had undergone a subtle change"; "a subtle difference"; "that elusive thing the soul". 2. Faint and difficult to analyze; "subtle aromas". 3. Able to make fine distinctions; "a subtle mind". 4. Working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way; "glaucoma is an insidious disease"; "a subtle poison". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "subtle" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
Note: Subtle \Sub"tle\, adjective. [Comparative Subtler; superlative Subtlest.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Food & Agriculture | Tasting term applied to aroma or perfume which is fine and delicate. Source: European Union. (references) |
Tips from 1870 | Usage: Subtile, Subtle. Subtile means thin, fine, rare, delicate; subtle means sly, artful, cunning, elusive. "More subtile web Arachne cannot spin." "He had to contend with a subtle foe." Source: Slips of Speech. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In mathematics, a cardinal κ is subtle iff for every closed and unbounded C ⊂ κ and for every sequence A of length κ for which element number δ (for an arbirary δ), Aδ ⊂ δ there are α, β belonging to C such that Aα=Aβ∩α.Theorem: There is a subtle cardinal ≤κ iff every transitive set S of cardinality κ contains x and y such that x is a proper subset of y and x ≠ Ø and x &ne {Ø}. An infinite ordinal κ is subtle iff for every λ<κ, every transitive set S of cardinality κ includes a chain (under inclusion) of order type λ.
Subtle cardinals are a type of large cardinal.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Subtle cardinal."
Synonyms: SubtleSynonyms: elusive (adj), insidious (adj), pernicious (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Cunning | Adjective: cunning, crafty, artful; skillful; subtle, feline, vulpine; cunning as a fox, cunning as a serpent; deep, deep laid; profound; designing, contriving; intriguing;Verb: strategic, diplomatic, politic, Machiavelian, timeserving; artificial; tricky, tricksy; wily, sly, slim, insidious, stealthy; underhand; (hidden); subdolous; deceitful; slippery as an eel, evasive; crooked; arch, pawky, shrewd, acute; sharp, sharp as a tack, sharp as a needle; canny, astute, leery, knowing, up to snuff, too clever by half, not to be caught with chaff. |
Difference | Nice distinction, fine distinction, delicate distinction, subtle distinction; shade of difference, nuance; discrimination; differentia. |
Difficulty | Nice point, delicate point, subtle point, knotty point; vexed question, vexata quaestio, poser; puzzle; (riddle); paradox; hard nut to crack, nut to crack; bone to pick, |
Reasoning, | Logical sequence; good case; correct just reasoning, sound reasoning, valid reasoning, cogent reasoning, logical reasoning, forcible reasoning, persuasive reasoning, persuasory reasoning, consectary reasoning, conclusive; ; subtle reasoning; force of argument, strong point, strong argument, persuasive argument. |
Smallness | Adjective: small, little; diminutive; (small in size); minute; fine; inconsiderable, paltry; (unimportant); faint; (weak); slender, light, slight, scanty, scant, limited; meager; (insufficient); sparing; few; low, so-so, middling, tolerable, no great shakes; below par, under par, below the mark; at a low ebb; halfway; moderate, modest; tender, subtle. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Subtle |
| English words defined with "subtle": Argutation, Argute, Argutely, Astucious ♦ casuist, casuistic, casuistical, casuistry, coarsen ♦ delicate ♦ elusive ♦ insidious, insidiousness ♦ Lasso cell ♦ nicety, nuance ♦ pernicious ♦ rarefy, refinement ♦ shade, sophist, sublimate, Subtile, subtilize, Subtleness, subtlety, subtly, Supersubtle. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "subtle": Alethes, aliasing bug ♦ bit rot, block transfer computations ♦ Cray instability, CUPID ♦ feature key, FRS ♦ Kvikkalkul ♦ Life is hard ♦ Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational ♦ Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal, resource characterization ♦ stale pointer bug, Subtle Doctor ♦ Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer ♦ WHIPSTER. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "subtle": subtlety. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | It's not a subtle point that you're making (As Good As It Gets; writing credit: Mark Andrus) I was thinking of a more subtle approach, y'know, like excessive not studying (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer) I mean, with all due respect, you sort of walk around with uppity breasts, and the hair flips aren't the most subtle. And your perfume -- you could be flammable (Ally McBeal; writing credit: Henri Vernes) I can be subtle. (The Operative: No One Lives Forever; writing credit: Jon Dichter) How can I put this to you in a subtle way (Quads!; writing credit: Ken Cuperus; Stephen French) | |
Lyrics | Subtle innuends follow (Goody Two Shoes; performing artist: Adam Ant) Was that a parable, or a very subtle joke (God Shuffled His Feet; performing artist: Crash Test Dummies) It's such a subtle move, such a gentle groove (SAVE A CORNER OF YOUR HEART; performing artist: Poco) | |
Clever | Men always want to be a woman's first love. Women have a more subtle instinct; what they like to be is a man's last romance. (references; author: unknown) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | Shown is a mammogram showing subtle cancer. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "_DOCKBAY:37" by Janus R. Sørensen Commentary: "The beauty of underground locations have always been a prime target of facination for me. I constantly find my self drawn to secluded and isolated urban areas. The stable and hypnotic pulse of electrical generators. The subtle and distant sounds of p" |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
Ansel Adams | The negative is comparable to the composer's score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways. |
Byron | Wives in their husbands' absences grow subtle, and daughters sometimes run off with the butler. |
Charles Dickens | Such is hope, heaven's own gift to struggling mortals, pervading, like some subtle essence from the skies, all things both good and bad. |
Doris Lessing | If a fish is the movement of water embodied, given shape, then cat is a diagram and pattern of subtle air. |
Henry David Thoreau | We perceive and are affected by changes too subtle to be described. |
John Milton | How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth, stolen on his wing my three-and-twentieth year! |
Oscar Wilde | Men always want to be a woman's first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a man's last romance. |
Thomas de Quincey | Thou has the keys of Paradise, O just, subtle, and mighty Opium! |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Sylvie and Bruno | Carroll, Lewis | His wife caught the idea, and at once began giving hints of the most subtle and delicate kind |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | He felt some dark presence moving irresistibly upon him from the darkness, a presence subtle and murmurous as a flood filling him wholly with itself |
King Richard III | Shakespeare, William | Think you, my lord, this little prating York Was not incensed by his subtle mother To taunt and scorn you thus opprobriously |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | The questions of the driver had the tone of a subtle examination |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Early symptoms of Parkinson's disease are subtle and occur gradually. (references) | |
Some patients have subtle structural changes detected only by ultrasonography. (references) | ||
The onset of ALS may be so subtle that the symptoms are frequently overlooked. (references) | ||
Business | The second approach is more subtle. (references) | |
Flooring is a long-term investment where subtle features of quality and durability make a significant difference. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Honduras | Other methods are more subtle, such as the coveted privilege to accompany the President on his official travels. (references) |
Antigua and Barbuda | The Government continues to restrict the opposition's access to the media, and there continue to be allegations of censorship as the result of subtle coercive pressure by influential persons. (references) | |
Economic History | Australia | However, subtle cultural differences do exist that can either invigorate or undermine a business relationship. (references) |
Human Rights | Congo | A number of domestic human rights groups generally operated with minimal government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases; however, some human rights leaders maintained that at times they were subjected to subtle forms of intimidation. (references) |
Minorities | Panama | Racism against blacks occurs, although it generally is expressed in more subtle terms. (references) |
Travel | Korea | Koreans can prove subtle and effective negotiators, and a commitment to a rigid negotiating tact early on may work to the American's disadvantage. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | CUPID, n. The so-called god of love. This bastard creation of a barbarous fancy was no doubt inflicted upon mythology for the sins of its deities. Of all unbeautiful and inappropriate conceptions this is the most reasonless and offensive. The notion of symbolizing sexual love by a semisexless babe, and comparing the pains of passion to the wounds of an arrow -- of introducing this pudgy homunculus into art grossly to materialize the subtle spirit and suggestion of the work -- this is eminently worthy of the age that, giving it birth, laid it on the doorstep of prosperity. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
George Bush | 1989-1993 | But we have to go back to the insight of Franklin Roosevelt who, when he spoke of what became the welfare program, want that it must not become a narcotic and a subtle destroyer of the spirit. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Subtle" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Subtle" is used about 1,811 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 100% | 1,811 | 4,670 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
1. Subtle, KY |
Expressions using "subtle": Subtle Aromatherapy ♦ subtle foe ♦ subtle mind ♦ subtle point ♦ subtle policy ♦ subtle sight ♦ subtle worker. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "subtle": subtle-physical. | |
Ending with "subtle": not-so-subtle, over-subtle, too-subtle. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "subtle"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | i mprehtë (acute, astute, bright, clairvoyant, Clarion, discerning, edgy, exquisite, fine, high, high pitched, incisive, ingenious, keen, keen-witted, knowing, nimble, penetrating, penetrative, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, piercing, piping, pointed, pungent, quick, ridged, ridgy, sagacious, salt, sharp, sharp cut, shrill, subtile, tart, trenchant), i lehtë (airy, downhill, easy, effortless, ethereal, etherial, expedite, facile, feathery, flimsy, frothy, gauzy, glib, gossamer, gossamery, light, lightweight, mild, pale, ready, sheer, simple, slight, subtile, toilless, trifling, tripping, walkaway, weak, weightless), i hollë (dainty, delicate, dinky, discerning, egg shell, exquisite, flimsy, gauzy, gossamer, gossamery, ingenious, keen, liny, meager, meagre, nice, paper, papery, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, politic, sleazy, slender, slim, small, spidery, spindling, spindly, subtile, tenuous, thin, Twiggy, washy), delikat (delicate, fine, fragile, frail, hothouse, kid glove, subtile). (various references) | |
Arabic | متقن (accurate, artful, dexterous, dextrous, exact, excellent, exquisite, masterful, masterly, neat, perfect, precise, skilful, skillful), ماكر (artful, crafty, cunning, deceitful, deep, designing, disingenuous, feline, foxlike, foxy, furtive, guileful, malicious, pawky, politic, scheming, sharper, slick, slim, sly, smart, trick, vulpine, wily), ماهر (adept, adroit, astute, clever, consummate, deft, ingenious, nimble, proficient, shrewd, skilful, skilled, skillful, slick, sound), حاذق (adroit, clever, dexterous, dextrous, ingenious, proficient, skilful, skilled, skillful), حاد الذهن (perspicacious, quick-witted, sharp-witted), رقيق (aerial, affectionate, airy, angelic, bland, bleeding heart, dainty, delicate, feminine, filmy, fine, flimsy, fluffy, fragile, frothy, gauzy, gentle, gingerly, gossamery, gracious, hearty, kind hearted, kindly, lovely, mellow, mincing, nice, orchidaceous, pastel, photogenic, piano, quiet, refined, romance, sharp, sloppy, smooth, soft-hearted, suave, sugary, superfine, tender, tenuous, thin, thinning, tilery, trick, warm, watery), بالغ الرقة (delicate), بارع (able, accomplished, adroit, artful, bright, brilliant, capable, clever, crafty, cunning, dexterous, dextrous, educated, fancy, fiend, foxy, handsome, handy, ingenious, intelligent, masterful, masterly, neat, nice, pretty, skilful, skilled, skillful, smart, superior, sweet, very beautiful, witty, workmanlike, workmanly). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | умел (able, adept, adroit, dextrous, perfect, practised, scientific, tactical), сложен (aggregate, complex, complicated, compound, convoluted, daedalian, elaborate, integrate, intricate, knotty, multiplex, perplexed, perplexing, sinuous, tangly, tricky), тънък (acute, cobwebby, fine, gauzy, hairsplitting, high pitched, jimp, lightweight, liny, neat, nice, niggling, reedy, sheer, shrewd, sleazy, slender, slight, slim, subulate, tenuous, thin, threadlike, thready, willowy), коварен (catty, crafty, guileful, insidious, perfidious, snaky, trappy, underhand), остър за ум (fine, incisive, quick), едва доловим (thready, wan), лукав (astute, crafty, designing, feline, furtive, guileful, parlous, pawky, serpentine, sly, snaky, tricky, underhand, wicked, wily), лек (airy, bland, cool, cure, cushy, easy, expedite, facile, fairy, flimsy, gentle, gossamer, gossamery, gradual, lambent, lenient, light, lightsome, lightweight, medicine, mild, mobile, potty, quiet, remedy, skyey, slick, slight, snap, soft, tenuous, unsound, unsubstantial), изтънчен (cool, dainty, delicate, discriminating, fastidious, fine, polished, polite, refined, urbane), изкусен (adroit, clever, cunning, daedal, expert, light fingered, masterful, mean, neat, proficient, scientific, sharp, skilful, skilled, skillful, slick, technic, technical, tricksy, versed, workmanlike). (various references) | |
Chinese | 微妙 . (various references) | |
Czech | rafinovaný (astute, crafty, cunning, refined, sneaky, sophisticated, wily), přesný (accurate, clean-cut, clear-cut, correct, definite, exact, faithful, just, literal, nice, precise, punctual, right, specific, strict, true, truthful), lstivý (crafty, cunning, deceitful, designing, leery, politic, tricky, underhand, wily), jemný (bland, dainty, delicate, fine, gentle, graceful, gracious, light, milky, nice, silken, silky, soft, suave, superfine, sweet, tender, tenuous, thin, wispy), bystrý (acute, alert, astute, bright, discerning, exquisite, keen, keen-witted, nimble, penetrating, perspicacious, quick, quick-witted, sagacious, sharp-witted, shrewd, smart), útlý (petite, slender). (various references) | |
Danish | subtil. (various references) | |
Dutch | subtiel, spitsvondig. (various references) | |
Esperanto | subtila. (various references) | |
Farsi | محیل (Astute, Pawky, Sly), ماهرانه (Workmanlike), لطیف (Benign, Delicate, Fine, Gaseous, Gentle, Gossamer, Rare, Rosewater, Soft, Tender, Tenuous, Volatile), تیزونافذ, زیرک (Acute, Adroit, Agile, Alert, Astute, Brilliant, Cagey, Canny, Clever, Cunning, Gash, Keen, Perspicacious, Sagacious, Sharp, Shrewd, Smart, Uncanny), دقیق (Accurate, Astringent, Astute, Exquisite, Literal, Particular, Precise, Precision, Punctilious, Punctual, Scholastic, Scrutinizer, Set, Sound, Stringent, Tender, Tenuous, Watchful, Wistful). (various references) | |
Finnish | hienostunut (polished, refined). (various references) | |
French | subtil. (various references) | |
German | subtil (subtly, tenuous, understated), fein (acute, choice, cunning, dainty, delicate, elegant, excellent, fancy, fashionable, fine, finely, great, keen, nice, nicely, polite, posh, pretty, refined, Savory, savoury, sensitive, smart, splendid, subtly, swell, tenuous, thin, wispy). (various references) | |
Greek | λεπτός (delicate, flimsy, slender, tenuous, thin). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מתוחכם (sophisticated), מפולפל (acute, fancy, peppery, spicy, tricky, witty), מעודן (delicate, exquisite, graceful, refined), מחוכם (ingenious, politic, shrewd), שנון (ingenious, keen, learning, memorizing, pointed, repetition, revision, salty, sharp, whetting, witty), עדין (as yet, dainty, delicate, elegant, fine, gentle, gracious, mild, noble, not yet, slender, soft, still, tender, yet). (various references) | |
Hungarian | hajszálnyi (hairbreadth), szövevényes (labyrinthine), körmönfont (acute, circumstantial, devious, shifty, smart). (various references) | |
Italian | sottile (delicate, fine, gaunt, keen, lean, sharp, shrewd, slender, slight, slim, small, subtile, thin), tenue (faint, feeble, slender, slight, soft, subtile, tenuous), perspicace (acute, astute, discerning, discriminating, judicious, observant, percipient, perspicacious, quick-witted, sharp witted, sharp-eyed, sharp-sighted, shrewd), minuzioso (carefully, detailed, exact, exactly, meticulous, minute, narrow, nice, niggling, precise, precisely, searching, subtile, thorough), fino (as far as, even, fine, pure, subtile, thin, till, up to), fine (chic, close, closure, conclusion, dainty, end, ending, fine, finish, object, purpose, result, sake, subtile, termination, thin), delicato (dainty, delicate, fine, gentle, maidenly, refined, sensitive, slight, soft, sore, subtile, tender, thin, ticklish, touchy, tricky), astuto (arch, artful, astute, cagey, canny, crafty, cunning, leery, shrewd, slick, sly, wily). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 繊細 (delicate, fine, nice), 微細 (delicate, detailed, micro, minute), 微妙 (delicate). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | びさい (delicate, detailed, micro, minute), びみょう (delicate, elegant, exquisite), せいち (birthplace, delicate, holy ground, minute, sacred place, soil preparation, the Holy Land), せんさい (cutting, delicate, fine, former wife, incompetence, lack of ability, late wife, nice, pruning, shearing, trimming, war damage), とらえどころのない (elusive, slippery). (various references) | |
Korean | 미묘한. (various references) | |
Manx | geyre-chooishagh (alert, astute, discriminating, sharp-witted, shrewd), fysseragh (curiosity, inquisitive, intelligent, nosey, prescient, well-informed), croutagh (calculating, crafty, devious, scheming). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ubtlesay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | sutil (dainty, delicate, fine, keen, penetrating, pervasive, refined, subtil, subtile), fino (braw, choice, dainty, delicate, dressy, exquisite, fine, gallant, gaunt, genteel, gentlemanly, gossamer, keen, knowing, lean, nice, nobby, out-and-out, posh, refined, select, sharp, sheer, sleazy, slender, slim, smart, stylish, subtil, subtile, tactful, tasteful, tenuous, thin, well-bred, well-made, wispy), arguto (politic, sagacious, sharp, shrewd, smart, subtil, subtile). (various references) | |
Romanian | subtil (acute, delicate, fine, fine-spun, insidious, nice, refined, sagacious, shrewd, subtly, tenuous), subţire (choice, cunning, delicate, filmy, fine, fine-drawn, flimsy, hour-glass, jejune, papery, reedy, refined, shrewd, shrill, skinny, slender, slight, slim, sly, small, spidery, squeamish, stalky, tall, tenuous, thin, thinly, weak, wiry), viclean (arch, artful, astute, cagey, catlike, catty, crafty, cunning, cute, deceitful, downy, foxy, guileful, leery, pawky, quick-witted, shifty, sly, slyly, wily), rafinat (clever, courtly, dainty, delicate, exquisite, fine, parliamentary, refined, sophisticated, tenuous), pãtrunzãtor (acute, astute, clear, clear-sighted, comprehensive, deep, deeply, discerning, harsh, high pitched, in-going, keen, loud, Parky, penetrating, perspicacious, piercing, quick, rich, sagacious, screaming, searching, sharp, shrewd, shrill, strident, thrilling, touching), insesizabil, dibaci (adroit, artful, clever, deft, dexterous, handy, skilful, skilled, skillful, slick, sly, tricky), şiret (arch, artful, canny, cord, crafty, cunning, fox-like, gimp, guileful, lace, pawkily, pawky, sharp, shifty, sly, slyboots, slyly, string, tricky, wily), ascuţit (acute, argute, biting, clipping, edged, edgy, fast, fine, high, high pitched, keen, keenly, knife-edged, mordacious, peaked, piercing, poignant, pointed, pointedly, pungent, quick, screaming, sharp, shrewd, shrill, smart, spiky, stinging, trenchant, whetted, witty), abil (adroit, apt, artful, artistic, artistical, astute, clean, clever, competent, crafty, cunning, deep, deft, dexterous, fit, handy, industrious, knowing, natty, qualified, ready, resourceful, sharp, shifty, skilful, skilfully, skilled, skillful, skillfully, sly, smart, swift-handed, versatile), îndemânatic (adroit, adroitly, clever, deft, dexterous, dextrous, handy, light-handed, natty, skilful, skillful, slick, tricky, workmanlike). (various references) | |
Russian | тонкий (delicate, fine, finespun, gauzy, keen, papery, sleazy, slender, slim, slimline, thin, twiggy, wispy). (various references) | |
Scottish | slìogach (sly). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | suptilan, vešt (able, accomplished, adept, adroit, artful, clever, cunning, daedal, deft, dexterous, habile, handy, knacky, knowing, proficient, sciential, skilled, skillful, slick, tall), prepreden (artful, cagey, cagy, cunning, guileful, politic, sharp, shrewd, slick, sly, smart, tricksy, tricky, vulpine), fin (fine, gossamer). (various references) | |
Spanish | sutil (acute, fine, hairsplitting, nice, nugatory, shrewd, subtile). (various references) | |
Swedish | subtil (nice), hårfin (capillaceous, capillary, hair's breadth). (various references) | |
Turkish | zekice (cutely, elegant, incisive, shrewd, witty), zeki (apt, as fresh as paint, astute, brainy, bright, brilliant, clear, clever, cute, discerning, ingenious, intellectual, intelligent, keen, keen-witted, longheaded, luminous, neat, nifty, nimble-witted, penetrating, penetrative, perceptional, perspicacious, quick of comprehension, quick on the trigger, quick-witted, sapient, sharp, sharp-witted, shrewd, smart, sparkling, spiritual, subtile, understanding), ustaca yapılmış (ingenious, subtile), tatlı (afters, agreeable, amiable, beautiful, blancmange, delightful, dessert, dulcet, fruity, honeyed, honied, luscious, mellifluent, mellifluous, mellow, pleasant, saccharine, sapid, silken, silky, smooth, soft, suave, subtile, sugary, sweet, sweetie, sweeties, sweetmeat, toothsome), kurnazca (cuningly, cutely, politically, slily, underarm, underhand), incelikli, ince (attenuate, attic, brittle, civilized, courteous, dainty, delicate, fine, fragile, graceful, gracile, gracious, keen, lean, nice, polite, precision, refined, scarious, sharp, slender, slim, subtile, sylphish, sylphlike, sylphy, tenuous, thin, trickish, tricksy, tricky, urbane, vaporous), hoş (affable, agreeable, beautiful, bonny, canny, charming, clean-cut, congenial, debonair, debonaire, delectable, delicious, delightful, desirable, elegant, enjoyable, fine, fragrant, handsome, jolly, kind, kindly, likable, likeable, lovable, lovely, nice, nicely, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, prettily, pretty, sapid, smart, smooth, suave, subtile, sweetly, tuneful, well, winning, winsome), çözümü zor. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | тонкий (acute, capillary, gauzy, nice, sleazy, slim, soft, spidery, subtile, tenuous, thin), гострий (abrupt, acrid, acrimonious, acute, argute, bad, barbed, biting, eager, edgy, incisive, keen, nimble, nutty, piercing, poignant, pointed, pungent, quick, savoury, sharp, splitting, subtile, trenchant, zestful), витончений (airy, attic, bijou, choice, curious, dainty, delicate, elegant, fastidious, fine, lepid, nice, rarefied, refined, slender, slinky, subtile, super, twee, zing). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | tinh vi (elaborate, elaborately, nice, sophisticated), tinh tế, tin nhanh xảo quyệt, tế nhị khôn khéo, phảng phất huyền ảo khó thấy, lanh lợi (agile, clever, cute, sharp-witted), khôn ngoan (advisable, day, discreet, philosophic, philosophical, politic, politically, sage, sapiential). (various references) | |
Welsh | cyfrin (secret). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | subtilis. (various references) |
| Old French | 900-1400 | fin. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "subtle": subtleness, subtlenesses, subtler, subtlest, subtleties, subtlety. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "subtle": oversubtle, supersubtle, unsubtle. (additional references) | |
Words containing "subtle": supersubtleties, supersubtlety. (additional references) | |
| |
"Subtle" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Sibele, Sibte, soble, subdle, suble, sublem, sublte, subple, subtil, subtile, subtlet, subtley, subtree, sultle, suptle, sutle, Sutlej, sutlen, sutlet, syble. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "subtle" (pronounced su"tul) |
| 5 | s u" t u l | unsubtle. |
| 4 | -u" t u l | rebuttal, scuttle, shuttle. |
| 3 | -t u l | infantile, infertile, accidental, acquittal, anecdotal, artiodactyl, battle, beetle, belittle, betel, bicoastal, bottle, brattle, Bristol, brittle, brutal, butyl, Cantle, capital, Capitol, cattle, chattel, chortle, coastal, coincidental, committal, compartmental, congenital, consonantal, continental, crustal, crystal, dental, detrimental, developmental, digital, disgruntle, dismantle, distal, ductile, elemental, embattle, entitle, environmental, experimental, extramarital, fatal, fertile, fetal, fractal, frontal, fundamental, futile, genital, gentle, glottal, governmental, horizontal, hospital, hostel, hostile, hurtle, immortal, immotile, incidental, incremental, spittle, startle, subtitle, supplemental, tactile, tattle, temperamental, instrumental, intercontinental, intergovernmental, judgmental, kettle, Kittel, Kittle, lentil, lintel, little, mantel, mantle, marital, mental, metal, mettle, monumental, mortal, motile, Myrtle, Natal, neonatal, nettle, noncommittal, nonfatal, nongovernmental, nonvolatile, occidental, occipital, orbital, oriental, ornamental, parental, parietal, pedestal, periodontal, petal, Pistil, pistol, pivotal, portal, postal, postnatal, Pottle, prattle, prefrontal, premarital, prenatal, projectile, quintal, rattle, recital, rectal, regimental, rental, resettle, sentimental, settle, skeletal, skittle, societal, throttle, title, tittle, tootle, total, transcendental, transcontinental, transmittal, turtle, unsentimental, unsettle, varietal, vegetal, versatile, vestal, vital, vittle, volatile, Whittle, Wintle. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: bluest, bluets, bustle, butles, sublet. | |
| Words within the letters "b-e-l-s-t-u" | |
-1 letter: belts, blest, blets, blues, bluet, butes, butle, lubes, lutes, tubes, tules. | |
-2 letters: bels, belt, best, bets, blet, blue, bust, bute, buts, lest, lets, lube, lues, lust, lute, slub, slue, stub, suet, tels, tube, tubs, tule. | |
-3 letters: bel, bet, bus, but, els, let, leu, sel, set, sub, sue, tel, tub, use, uts. | |
-4 letters: be, el. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-e-l-s-t-u" | |
+1 letter: bluster, boletus, bullets, bustled, bustles, butlers, stubble, stumble, sublate, sublets, subtile, subtler, sunbelt, tubules, tumbles, unbelts, unblest. | |
+2 letters: abluents, absolute, ballutes, baluster, bluestem, bluffest, bluntest, blurters, blusters, blustery, bulblets, bulgiest, bulkiest, bulliest, burliest, bustline, doublets, gustable, humblest, obtusely, outbless, rustable, stubbled, stubbles, stumbled, stumbler, stumbles, sublated, sublates, subtiler, subtitle, subtlest, subtlety, subulate, suitable, sunbelts, tableaus, troubles, tubeless, tubulose, tumblers, tumbrels, unstable, unsubtle. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Quotations: Speeches 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Cities 14. Expressions 15. Expressions: Internet 16. Translations: Modern | 17. Translations: Ancient 18. Derivations 19. Rhymes 20. Anagrams | 21. Bibliography |
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