subtle
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English sotil, soubtil, subtil, borrowed from Old French soutil, subtil, from Latin subtīlis (“fine, thin, slender, delicate”); probably, originally, “woven fine”, and from sub (“under”) + tela (“a web”), from texere (“to weave”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
subtle (comparative subtler or more subtle, superlative subtlest or most subtle)
- Hard to grasp; not obvious or easily understood; barely noticeable.
- The difference is subtle, but you can hear it if you listen carefully.
- 1712, Richard Blackmore, Creation: A Philosophical Poem. Demonstrating the Existence and Providence of a God. In Seven Books, book I, London: Printed for S. Buckley, at the Dolphin in Little-Britain; and J[acob] Tonson, at Shakespear's Head over-against Catherine-Street in the Strand, OCLC 731619916; 5th edition, Dublin: Printed by S. Powell, for G. Risk, G. Ewing, and W. Smith, in Dame's-street, 1727, OCLC 728300884, page 7:
- The mighty Magnet from the Center darts / This ſtrong, tho' ſubtile Force, thro' all the Parts: / Its active Rays ejaculated thence, / Irradiate all the wide Circumference.
- (of a thing) Cleverly contrived.
- (of a person or animal) Cunning, skillful.
- Insidious, deceptive, malicious.
- 1623, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third, Act IV, scene 4:
- Thy age confirmed, proud, subtle, bloody, treacherous.
- 1623, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third, Act IV, scene 4:
- Tenuous; rarefied; of low density or thin consistency.
- (obsolete) Refined; exquisite.
Synonyms
Antonyms
- (hard to grasp): simple
Derived terms
Translations
hard to grasp
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cleverly contrived
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cunning, skillful
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insidious
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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References
- “subtle”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “subtle”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “subtle”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
Anagrams
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
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- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
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- Rhymes:English/ʌtəl
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