Subtle
WordNet
adjective
(1) Faint and difficult to analyze
"Subtle aromas"
(2) Working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
"Glaucoma is an insidious disease"
"A subtle poison"
(3) 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"
(4) Able to make fine distinctions
"A subtle mind"
WiktionaryText
Etymology
, , , later , , ; probably, originally, “woven fine”, and from + , from .
Adjective
- Hard to grasp; not obvious or easily understood; barely noticeable.
- The difference is subtle, but you can hear it if you listen carefully.
- Cleverly contrived.
- Cunning, skillful.
- insidious
- 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.