subtlein a sentencegrouped by contextual meaning
subtle as in: a subtle poison
-
She is working subtly against us.
subtly = working in a way that is hard to see
show 10 more with this conextual meaning
- It is a subtle poison. In small doses, it might never be detected, but eventually your heart will fail.
-
With all the subtlety of a bulldozer I wrote my paper on the effect bipolar parents have on their children.
(source)
subtlety = non-obvious manner
-
Then a true swamp settled deep with its low-earth smell and fusty air. Sudden, subtle, and silent all at once, it stretched into the mouth of the dark receding forest.
(source)
subtle = working in a way that is hard to see
-
It's not the overt bullying that does it, either. It's the subtle manipulation of the situation. The bullying almost acts as cover for what's really going on.
(source)
subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
-
And speaking of not-so-subtle, the heap of dollar bills that just fell out of my locker, along with a note, were a good indicator that I may not be very welcome.
(source)
subtle = done in a manner that is indirect or hidden (not obvious)
-
There wasn't any poison, nothing as subtle as that.
(source)
subtle = working in a hidden way
-
There is a misty plot afoot so subtle we should be criminal to cling to old respects and ancient friendships.
(source)
subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
-
"I'd love to look around," Hana hints not-so-subtly.
(source)
subtly = working in an indirect or hidden manner
-
What if this were all a subtle trap?
(source)
subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
-
A poison--so subtle, so insidious . . . so irreversible. It won't even kill you unless you stop taking it.
(source)
subtle = working in a hidden way
▲ show less (of above)
show 20 more with this conextual meaning
-
It was one thing to screw up a huge weapon. It was another thing to screw it up so subtly that no one noticed until it was too late.
(source)
subtly = working in an indirect or hidden way
-
"You never told me what you thought of the picture." Nice try, Clay, but that's not why you're here.
"...What do you want? Because you don't do subtle well." (source)subtle = things done in a hidden or indirect way
-
Some were shamelessly open, some shamelessly subtle.
(source)
subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
- But behind that display of sleeping force were other and much subtler weapons. (source)
- It looked as though the Old South was still alive and well, a little more subtle, without the sheets and night riders, but a force that still tolerated little deviation from the norm. (source)
-
Or Katharine would die, and by subtle maneuverings Winston and Julia would succeed in getting married.
(source)
subtle = indirect or hidden
-
But even if He defeats your first attempt at misdirection, we have a subtler weapon.
(source)
subtler = more indirect or non-obvious thing or manner that harms
-
He had felt a subtle, dark, and murmurous presence penetrate his being...
(source)
subtle = hidden and harmful
-
There were poisons so subtle that to know their properties one had to sicken of them.
(source)
subtle = hidden in the way they work
-
All this was accomplished with a subtlety so perfect, that the minister, though he had constantly a dim perception of some evil influence watching over him, could never gain a knowledge of its actual nature.
(source)
subtlety = working in an indirect or hidden way
- I peek over Lauren's shoulder and copy down two of her answers—I'm good at being subtle about it— (source)
-
"You don't have to cover for the fact that you wanted to see me, Leigh, but subtlety is always appreciated."
(source)
subtlety = something that is indirect or non-obvious -- often harmful or intentionally hidden
- His name struck fear in the souls of all his employees and his hand ruled the passages of his carpeted bailiwick with the subtlety of a sword. (source)
-
That was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed.
(source)
subtlety = something that is indirect or non-obvious
-
We have had, and may still have, worse things to tell of him; but none, we apprehend, so pitiably weak; no evidence, at once so slight and irrefragable, of a subtle disease that had long since begun to eat into the real substance of his character.
(source)
subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
- Dames of elevated rank, likewise, whose doors she entered in the way of her occupation, were accustomed to distil drops of bitterness into her heart; sometimes through that alchemy of quiet malice, by which women can concoct a subtle poison from ordinary trifles; and sometimes, also, by a coarser expression, that fell upon the sufferer's defenceless breast like a rough blow upon an ulcerated wound. (source)
-
Certainly there was some deep meaning in it most worthy of interpretation, and which, as it were, streamed forth from the mystic symbol, subtly communicating itself to my sensibilities, but evading the analysis of my mind.
(source)
subtly = indirectly in a way that is hard to see
-
and round the posts he poured the chains in a sweeping net
with streams of others flowing down from the roofbeam,
gossamer-fine as spider webs no man could see,
not even a blissful god—
the Smith had forged a masterwork of guile.
Once he'd spun that cunning trap around his bed
...
and uncontrollable laughter burst from the happy gods
when they saw the god of fire's subtle, cunning work. (source)subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
-
you actually entertained my husband as you say.
Come, tell me what sort of clothing he wore,
what cut of man was he?
What of the men who followed in his train?"
"Ah good woman,"
Odysseus, the great master of subtlety, returned,
"how hard it is to speak, after so much time
apart …. (source)subtlety = something that is indirect or non-obvious -- often harmful or intentionally hidden
-
The minister well knew—subtle, but remorseful hypocrite that he was!—the light in which his vague
confession would be viewed. (source)subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
▲ show less (of above)
subtle as in: a subtle shade of blue
-
Her warning was subtle, but unmistakable.
subtle = understated (so as not to draw attention to itself)
show 10 more with this conextual meaning
-
She likes dramatic statements, but he prefers to be subtle.
subtle = understated so as not to draw excess attention
-
In the weeks that followed, Tyler began to test my parents in the subtle, nonconfrontational way that was uniquely his.
(source)
subtle = understated so as not to draw attention
-
He gives me a subtle thumbs-up.
(source)
subtle = understated so as not to draw attention to itself
-
They weren't very subtle.
(source)
subtle = understated (not obvious so it wouldn't be noticed)
-
By then, Khala Jamila's initially subtle hints had become overt, as in "Kho dega!"
(source)
subtle = mild (understated)
-
Thanks to their complete lack of subtlety, the whole world now knew the Jade Key must be hidden somewhere in that sector.
(source)
subtlety = understatement (so as not to draw attention)
-
I try to subtly hide the cover with my hand.
(source)
subtly = in a manner that does not draw attention
- I pulled away as subtly as I could manage. (source)
-
Her hair was done up with a row of yellow jewels pinned into a line across the front in a very subtle resemblance to a crown.
(source)
subtle = not obvious, but noticeable
-
Charlie, in an obvious maneuver that he meant to be subtle, shrugged in between us and put his arm around my shoulders.
(source)
subtle = understated so as not to draw attention
▲ show less (of above)
show 11 more with this conextual meaning
-
"Ouch," I said, trying to be subtle in taking a glance at my watch: five minutes had passed.
(source)
subtle = understated (not obvious so it wouldn't be noticed)
-
And we ourselves become somehow not ourselves, but we turn subtler, weirder, less attached to our bodies, less attached to our names.
(source)
subtler = more understated (less obvious as individuals)
-
It's a simple sleeveless shift dress with a very subtle scoop neck and a slight A-line skirt that hits just barely above my knee.
(source)
subtle = understated so as not to draw attention to itself
-
It is not bad--at first, and very gentle, but quite the subtlest, most enduring odor I ever met.
(source)
subtlest = most understated
-
Then, not so subtly, he told me to mention his art to Prince Maxon.
(source)
subtly = in an understated (non-obvious) manner
-
I began to walk my avatar down the hall, using a series of subtle hand motions to control its movements and actions.
(source)
subtle = small, nuanced
-
I stare them down for a few more seconds, debating whether to unleash the smile all at once or just let it subtly drift across my face, when I'm interrupted by a voice behind me.
(source)
subtly = in an understated manner
- a subtle elegance
-
Holly came by with the check, an unsubtle reminder that we'd overstayed our welcome.
(source)
unsubtle = obviousstandard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unsubtle means not and reverses the meaning of subtle. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
-
As we drove, Daisy struck up a wholly unsubtle conversation.
(source)
unsubtle = direct
-
It must needs be of subtle, tender, and delicate temperance.
(source)
subtle = mild (understated)
▲ show less (of above)
subtle as in: a subtle difference or thinker
-
She used subtle reasoning to expose the absurdity of his argument.
subtle = making use of slight distinctions
-
She guessed which spices were used by their subtle aromas.
subtle = not obvious, but identifiable by someone with adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge
show 10 more with this conextual meaning
-
She has a good eye for subtle differences in color.
subtle = not obvious, but identifiable by someone with adequate sensitivity
-
Her whole attitude had undergone a subtle change.
subtle = not obvious, but noticeable by someone with adequate sensitivity
-
His heart sank as he thought of the enormous power arrayed against him, the ease with which any Party intellectual would overthrow him in debate, the subtle arguments which he would not be able to understand, much less answer.
(source)
subtle = requiring fine distinctions and relevant knowledge
-
The only indication of the passage of time lies in the heavens, the subtle shift of the moon.
(source)
subtle = slightly noticeable
- But Hassan's face was my earliest memory and I knew all of its subtle nuances, knew each and every twitch and flicker that ever rippled across it. (source)
-
I'd deduced that the black dragon painting on the wall of Anorak's study had been a subtle hint that Burakku Doragon would play a key role in the Hunt.
(source)
subtle = not obvious, but understandable to someone with relevant knowledge
-
But those changes are subtle and hard to measure.
(source)
subtle = difficult to notice
-
Her mistakes, which sound so awful to her, are barely noticeable.
...
Every one of them is small, subtle, but they are mistakes nonetheless. (source)subtle = slightly noticeable (requiring fine distinctions and relevant knowledge)
-
You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking,
(source)
subtle = difficult to understand without adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge
-
He soon discovered, however, what Muir and Thoreau already knew: An extended stay in the wilderness inevitably directs one's attention outward as much as inward, and it is impossible to live off the land without developing both a subtle understanding of, and a strong emotional bond with, that land and all it holds.
(source)
subtle = with fine distinctions that are not obvious
▲ show less (of above)
show 88 more with this conextual meaning
-
It was a subtle change, hard to identify at first.
(source)
subtle = not obvious (a barely noticeable difference)
-
It's easy to tell on some, subtle on others.
(source)
subtle = difficult to notice
-
Secret, subtle, roundabout.
(source)
subtle = requiring fine distinctions and relevant knowledge
-
But he seemed not to hear us as his eyes met Mr. Morrison's and the two of them smiled in subtle understanding, the distance between them fading.
(source)
subtle = slightly noticeable
-
Though the details differed each time, Edgar got the idea that Claude and his father had slipped without their knowing it into some irresistible rhythm of taunt and reply whose references were too subtle or too private to decipher.
(source)
subtle = complex and understated
-
Kavinsky? Are you kidding me? He's so obvious. I thought you'd be into someone more ... I don't know, subtle. Peter Kavinsky's such a cliché. He's like a cardboard cutout of a 'cool guy' in a movie about high school.
(source)
subtle = with fine distinctions that are not obvious
-
Somehow, they carried the authority of middle pretties without the firm jaw, the subtly lined eyes, or the elegant clothing.
(source)
subtly = slightly noticeable
-
I can pick up on subtle clues.
(source)
subtle = slightly noticeable or difficult to understand
-
Until my father explained it to me later, I did not understand the subtlety of Tom's predicament: he would not have dared strike a white woman under any circumstances and expect to live long, so he took the first opportunity to run— a sure sign of guilt.
(source)
subtlety = non-obvious nature
-
All at once Kit was aware that this New England, which had shown her the miracle of autumn and the white wonder of snow, had a new secret in store. This time it was a subtle promise, a tantalizing hint of beauty still withheld, a beckoning to her spirit to follow she knew not where. She had forgotten that summer would come again, that the green would spread over the frozen fields, that...
(source)
subtle = slightly noticeable
-
The change was in subtler things--the tilt of Alyss' head, the particular sweep of her arms, her careful steps forward.
(source)
subtler = less noticeable
-
I'd go to Monet's and write a poem or two. My first few attempts were a bit sad. Not much depth or subtlety. Pretty straightforward.
(source)
subtlety = things that are not stated directly, but can be understood by someone with adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge
-
Absentmindedly, I twisted my right hand to the side, and watched the sunlight glitter subtly off the scar James had left there.
(source)
subtly = in a slightly noticeable manner
-
I'd only known Rogerson for three months, but I could recognize instantly the subtle signs of him growing irritated:
(source)
subtle = slightly noticeable
-
...hawk features, blue-ink eyes that suggested he was a native of Arrakis, but subtleties of movement and stance told her he was not.
(source)
subtleties = things that are slightly noticeable
-
There was a subtle limp to her walk, maybe, but if I hadn't known what had happened, I would have just assumed she was coming in from a long afternoon of working in the Garden.
(source)
subtle = not obvious, but noticeable if you look carefully
-
"Mark their subtleties, Sire," said Poggin to the King.
(source)
subtleties = things that are hard to notice
-
And though his voice is the same, there's something subtly different about him.
(source)
subtly = not obvious, but understandable by someone with adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge
-
Sometimes it appeared as though they played some vast and complicated game with me and the rest of the school folk, a game whose goal was laughter and whose rules and subtleties I could never grasp.
(source)
subtleties = distinctions that are hard to notice
-
He noticed the subtle differences as she changed before his eyes.
(source)
subtle = slightly noticeable
-
That he has a sense of humor that's often so subtle it takes you hours to catch up.
(source)
subtle = understated so it is hard to notice or understand (perhaps requiring an understanding of find distinctions)
-
One of those exams where the wrong, subtle interpretation of the facts made the difference between pass and fail.
(source)
subtle = difficult to understand (requiring finely tuned sensitivity and relevant knowledge)
-
It's subtle, and I doubt most people would notice, because the change is mostly in the eyes, but I can see the difference.
(source)
subtle = not obvious (a barely noticeable difference)
-
I believe that subtleties of feeling began to disappear until finally I was on a pleasure-pain basis.
(source)
subtleties = things that are not obvious
-
The experience had subtler points that did not escape Rutledge.
(source)
subtler = harder to notice or understand
-
It was always new, familiar though the body and its responses became, and as physical as the act was, requiring such roughness, control and subtlety.
(source)
subtlety = sensitivity to fine distinctions
-
The Supervisor did not use those actual words, of course, and the thoughts he really expressed were far more subtle.
(source)
subtle = difficult to understand -- often due to slight distinctions
-
...what has remained is an indefinable nonspeech, flavored subtly with a nonaccent, and decipherable to no one, black or white, on the American continent.
(source)
subtly = not obvious, but noticeable
-
The scent organ was playing a delightfully refreshing Herbal Capriccio–rippling arpeggios of thyme and lavender, of rosemary, basil, myrtle, tarragon; a series of daring modulations through the spice keys into ambergris; and a slow return through sandalwood, camphor, cedar and newmown hay (with occasional subtle touches of discord–a whiff of kidney pudding, the faintest suspicion of pig's dung) back to the simple aromatics with which the piece began.
(source)
subtle = with fine distinctions that are not obvious
-
I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all — Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life.
(source)
subtly = in a non-obvious manner
-
Here, on the borders of death, life follows an amazingly simple course, it is limited to what is most necessary, all else lies buried in gloomy sleep;—in that besides our primitiveness and our survival. Were we more subtly differentiated we must long since have gone mad, have deserted, or have fallen.
(source)
subtly = in a manner that focuses on things other than those that are the most pressing
-
Somehow Anne—who did not notice the rather guilty little start of surprise the white-lace girl gave, and would not have understood the subtle compliment implied therein if she had—got on her feet, and moved dizzily out to the front.
(source)
subtle = not obvious, but noticeable by someone with adequate sensitivity
-
The news of it was borne in upon him, not by sight, or sound, or smell, but by some other and subtler sense.
(source)
subtler = harder to notice or understand
-
In a hard and warlike time he was celebrate that he have more iron nerve, more subtle brain, more braver heart, than any man.
(source)
subtle = clever (capable of understanding things not comprehensible to most)
-
These dreams came again later on, developed to a more subtle psychological stage.
(source)
subtle = slightly noticeable or difficult to understand
-
the loveliness and subtleties of certain colours
(source)
subtleties = slightly noticeable differences
-
A heart too deep for common minds to plumb, A spirit subtle, charming?
(source)
subtle = with fine distinctions that are not obvious
-
...after living for three years within the subtle influence of an intellect like Emerson's;
(source)
subtle = intelligent
- He had left the others, not least because the stink of Jack Dandy's cologne made finding anything subtler impossible.† (source)
- But, no matter, the Meanys were invulnerable to such subtleties as tone of voice.† (source)
- The appointment made one ineligible as a candidate during the election, and it also required one spend many days prior to conclave poring over the pages of the Universi Dominici Gregis reviewing the subtleties of conclave's arcane rituals to ensure the election was properly administered.† (source)
- He has subtler methods, too.† (source)
- There were other, subtler signs of adverse times: no children played in the streets, people bore hard expressions, and many houses were deserted, with weeds growing from cracks in their stone-covered yards.† (source)
- I took a subtler path.† (source)
- This was a gentler, subtler process.† (source)
- Link wasn't big on subtleties, and I don't think he could imagine hanging out with a girl for any reason other than maybe she played lead guitar, except for the obvious ones.† (source)
- The subtleties of each step!† (source)
- It was just a little subtler about its homicides now.† (source)
- Here is another example of the subtleties of persuasion.† (source)
- It's a lot subtler.† (source)
- We're great admirers of Bono, who has been indefatigable in support of aid for Africa and who knows the subtleties of development; he talks poverty policy as well as he sings.† (source)
- The second was a subtler matter.† (source)
- Pea Eye, who liked to take life one simple step at a time, had not appreciated the subtleties of the situation.† (source)
- Smaller, subtler, more ironic.† (source)
- This is a conservative estimate, since the algorithm was able to identify only the most egregious form of cheating—in which teachers systematically changed students' answers—and not the many subtler ways a teacher might cheat.† (source)
- While many wore foreign clothes, Max was more interested in subtler differences, such as their posture and facial expressions.† (source)
- He is versed in foreign policy and domestic legislation and can give a tutorial on the subtleties of backroom wheeling and dealing.† (source)
- The intuitive brilliance he'd shown in childhood now focused acutely on the inner subtleties and structures of Marine life.† (source)
- Those features, and many subtler ones, are the speech of the urban ghettos.† (source)
- Now the smoky air was alive with subtler sounds: water gushing from broken mains, the whine of a trapped dog, hoarse voices moaning for help.† (source)
- No subtleties now.† (source)
- Great men understood subtleties, and he had been subtle in ways his brilliant uncle would appreciate.† (source)
- Smith took Workman to Pollard's hospital bed for a tutorial on the subtleties of riding Seabiscuit.† (source)
- It was subtler than that.† (source)
- In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications must remain in the dark.† (source)
- He had spent several years learning the subtleties of controlling one, and then a second, goblin tribe.† (source)
- There were half circles under her eyes, and other, subtler signs that mark an acutely troubled young girl, but nonetheless no one could have missed seeing that she was a first-class beauty.† (source)
- They yield to a bias and they entangle themselves in words and subtleties.† (source)
- Leamas, who was not particularly receptive to such subtleties, found it hard to remember that he was in a private flat and not a hotel.† (source)
- His visible eye seemed mild and noncommittal, but Oedipa wondered what hang-ups, crises, spookings in the middle of the night might be developed from the shadowed subtleties of his mouth, hidden under a full beard.† (source)
- You are wise, maybe, Mithrandir, yet with all your subtleties you have not all wisdom.† (source)
- I have never written fast or easily and this was no exception, for even then I was compelled to search, however inadequately, for the right word and suffered over the rhythms and subtleties of our gorgeous but unbenevolent, unyielding tongue; nonetheless, I was seized by a strange, dauntless self-confidence and I scribbled away joyously while the characters I had begun to create seemed to acquire a life of their own and the muggy atmosphere of the Tidewater summer took on both an eye-dazzling and almost tactile reality, as if unspooling before my eyes on film, in uncanny three-dimensional color.† (source)
- He was in no shape to catch any subtleties, that was for sure.† (source)
- For a long time the doctor could not understand these subtleties.† (source)
- Rufus quickly came to suspect the more flagrant exaggerations of friendliness, but the subtler boys found, to their intense delight, that if only they varied the surface, the bait, from time to time, they would almost always deceive him.† (source)
-
There is a subtle play of looks and tones and laughs by which a Mortal can imply that he is of the same party is those to whom he is speaking.
(source)
subtle = slightly noticeable
-
But there were other days when they settled down to their work almost eagerly, making a tremendous show of entering up their minutes and drafting long memoranda which were never finished — when the argument as to what they were supposedly arguing about grew extraordinarily involved and abstruse, with subtle haggling over definitions, enormous digressions, quarrels threats, even, to appeal to higher authority.
(source)
subtle = requiring fine distinctions
-
But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler.
(source)
subtler = with finer distinctions
-
There was something subtly wrong with Syme. ... You could not say that he was unorthodox. ... Yet a faint air of disreputability always clung to him.
(source)
subtly = non-obvious
-
This drama that I have played out with you during seven years will be played out over and over again generation after generation, always in subtler forms.
(source)
subtler = with finer distinctions
-
It need hardly be said that the subtlest practitioners of doublethink are those who invented doublethink and know that it is a vast system of mental cheating.
(source)
subtlest = with deepest understanding
-
No longer was this fact borne in upon him in some subtle, mysterious way.
(source)
subtle = not obvious, but noticeable by someone with adequate knowledge or sensitivity
-
Our bird when he found the cage open would not fly, so all our subtle arrangements were for nought.
(source)
subtle = dependent upon fine distinctions
-
At last I felt that subtle change in the air, and knew that the morning had come.
(source)
subtle = slightly noticeable
-
The effect on Lucy was not bad, for the faint seemed to merge subtly into the narcotic sleep.
(source)
subtly = non-obvious, but possible to notice
-
a subtle gloom
(source)
subtle = slightly noticeable
-
But I can still read the gray names, and they will give you a better impression than my generalities of those who accepted Gatsby's hospitality and paid him the subtle tribute of knowing nothing whatever about him.
(source)
subtle = not obvious, but understandable by someone with relevant knowledge
-
His moods have so followed the doings of the Count, that the coming destruction of the monster may be carried to him some subtle way.
(source)
subtle = clever
▲ show less (of above)
show 10 more examples with any meaning
- But whether from a lack of subtlety or a lack of sense, the Bishop had not only failed in his purpose, he had put his customer in a corner.† (source)
- Sometimes you saw it in the subtlest of ways: the old neighbor who diligently tended her garden even as her neighbors let their homes rot from the inside out; the young woman who grew up with my mom, who returned to the neighborhood every day to help her mother navigate old age.† (source)
- He subtly lets his players know to slow it down for the remainder of the half.† (source)
- Her unescorted stroll down the aisle was a subtle reminder that the manhunt for two of Maryland's most wanted was still on, now in day five.† (source)
- I can count on a few things: There aren't many Dauntless in the compound, the Dauntless aren't known for their subtlety, and I'll do anything to stop them.† (source)
- Wavy dabs of black circled the face in a pattern that was striking yet subtle, for it brought less attention to itself than it did to the one part of the face left untouched by it, the bridge, whose rufous lustre shone nearly with a radiance.† (source)
- It was a subtle change in emphasis, but I knew that was the only way I could get him to accompany me.† (source)
- Was he listening to the air whooshing in and out of her nose, she wondered, waiting for a subtle faltering, a revealing irregularity, that would betray her thoughts?† (source)
- The staircase, like the aisle of a dark movie theater, was illuminated by subtle tread-lighting embedded in each step.† (source)
- In a subtle kind of dry way.† (source)
▲ show less (of above)
show 190 more examples with any meaning
- "In place of our leader, sick in bed, I declare this Gathering begun," he said, with a subtle roll of his eyes as if he hated anything approaching formality "As you all know, the last few days have been bloody crazy, and quite a bit seems centered around our Greenbean, Tommy, seated before us."† (source)
- The skull moved subtly under the features, the angle of her forehead tilting back, her chin becoming more defined, her jaw stronger.† (source)
- Harry noticed that Ron's version of events changed subtly with every retelling.† (source)
- The technicians, school representatives, and examiners—each wearing uniforms in subtly different shades—scribble on pads of graph paper with a very narrow gauge, and sheet after sheet of this paper gets closed into leather binders with a gold lightning bolt stamped on the front.† (source)
- I figured that out from some subtle clues: the shape of the connection points, the thickness of the insulation, and the fact that it had "LiSOC12 NON-RCHRG" written on it.† (source)
- Its timbre replaced that of the overhead lights and cast a subtle pall across the citizens in the gallery, who sat looking at one another and at the ceiling.† (source)
- His face was a soft triangle, concluding in a chin so subtly dimpled she hadn't seen it before that moment.† (source)
- And sometimes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (who is the author) describes people like this.... There was something subtly wrong with the face, some coarseness of expression, some hardness, perhaps of eye, some looseness of lip which marred its perfect beauty.† (source)
- Since my talk with Jess the day I planted tomatoes, my sense of the men I knew had undergone a subtle shift.† (source)
- Her job was to connect these dots, but what truly needed to be done was to draw a line long before this: the tipping point where Peter Houghton's mind had shifted, subtly, from what if to when.† (source)
- "Your Highness," Chaol said, stepping forward, a subtle movement to keep himself between Nehemia and Celaena.† (source)
- He called me Special Ed because I was in a few gifted classes, which were, technically speaking, part of our school's special-education curriculum, a subtlety of nomenclature that Ricky found endlessly amusing.† (source)
- Tyrion was congratulating himself on his subtlety when someone pulled a hood down over his eyes and lifted him up onto a saddle.† (source)
- I say loudly, because I've learned there's no subtle way to wake him.† (source)
- Child after child received it with trembling fingers, and child after child, upon looking at the questions, turned pale, or red, or a subtle shade of green.† (source)
- "I can tell subtle differences between colors, even though they may look a little blurry," Tess replies.† (source)
- She even wore makeup, better than Piper would ever know how to do herself—subtle touches that made her lips cherry red and brought out all the different colors in her eyes.† (source)
- When at last Lola spoke her tone was reflective, as though she were pondering subtle currents of counter-arguments.† (source)
- Nobly they fought and bravely, but not well, And sank heart-wounded by a subtle spell.† (source)
- It was as if they were rejecting that stuffed pepper, which contains every imaginable flavor; sweet as candied citron, juicy as a pomegranate, with the bit of pepper and the subtlety of walnuts, that marvelous chile in walnut sauce.† (source)
- Ben came over then, and said, "Are you trying to be subtle?† (source)
- Save the subtle stuff.† (source)
- As she paid for the hover and walked toward the automatic glass door, a subtle pulse tugged at her ankle—Buddha scanning visitors for weapons.† (source)
- "Such subtlety ..." said Slartibartfast, "one has to admire it."† (source)
- Far less subtly than I'm sure she intended, she made wide eyes at Lucy and Anne, begging them to leave with her.† (source)
- Even though it was light brown and said SUBTLE, NATURAL LOOK right on the package.† (source)
- She asked dozens of questions, questions either I or any book on coin collecting could have answered, but as the minutes passed, her questions became more subtle.† (source)
- Retaining our humanity, cherishing our heritage, we fought the depravity of the Nazis with subtle forms of resistance.† (source)
- Always leaving the door of my room partially open when she came to visit, a not-so-subtle invitation.† (source)
- There is something beautiful in the subtlety of that exchange, in the attention that each party must pay to the motivations and desires of the other.† (source)
- They're pretty subtle.† (source)
- A subtle yet familiar fragrance filled my head.† (source)
- He's such the cool guy with his pegged jeans and black low-tops, his effortlessly beat-up punk-rock tees and his subtle tattoos.† (source)
- We follow and, as before, the very subtle glow of a set of headlights sweeps around the bend in the road and into the lot of the school.† (source)
- Little things, like Alexander J. and Peter N. walking across the courtyard with him towards the fields, the three of them chatting quite naturally; a subtle but clear difference in people's voices when his name got mentioned.† (source)
- Gently, subtly suggesting, should we go to trial.† (source)
- It produced a subtle ringing.† (source)
- He's about sixteen or seventeen and he has freck —les and straight white teeth and he looks like a million other kids his age except for that subtle difference that marks him for what he is.† (source)
- Enforcing rules, especially in its more subtle expressions like responsibility and expectation, is a vain attempt to create certainty out of uncertainty.† (source)
- I didn't enjoy it, and for the first time I found myself thinking about the words of the song, closely listening to the subtle instruments in the beat.† (source)
- All of the Sweet Home men, before and after Halle, treated her to a mild brotherly flirtation, so subtle you had to scratch for it.† (source)
- Finally, tired in body and spirit, I abandoned professional subtlety and asked the group I was sitting with, "Did you kill my companion?"† (source)
- Subtlety is lost on Marley.† (source)
- His eyes were dark and distant, and he moved with the subtle certainty that comes from knowing many things.† (source)
- I could see that my less than subtle reminder of the agreement that both bound and protected his tribe pulled him up short.† (source)
- Some of my more political colleagues may tell you yes, that every work is either part of the socialproblem or part of the solution (they'll give it to you with rather more subtlety than that, but that's the gist).† (source)
- It's a subtle but significant difference, recognizing the person before the condition.† (source)
- I'm not only speaking of the small actions that, cumulatively, over time, or in great numbers, steer the course of events in ways too chaotic or subtle to trace.† (source)
- After the bitter stench of the alleyways, the hallway smelled wonderful: sweet with jasmine and other subtle exotic odors.† (source)
- The most subtle dusting of silver shone on her shoulders, her face, her hair.† (source)
- That the water came from the county and not the famous village was a subtlety upon which Burnham and McElroy did not dwell.† (source)
- I do not know whether to view myself as an unwitting dupe, or, what is worse, a self-deluded fool; but even these doubts may be an illusion, and I may all along have been dealing with a woman so transparently innocent that in my over-subtlety I did not have the wit to recognize it.† (source)
- I knew I was not clever or subtle or sophisticated; if the Beje was becoming a meeting place for need and supply, it was through some strategy far higher than mine.† (source)
- If you're deaf to this subtle conversation, it comes as a shock when the opening bid seems to be, "Madame, I request from you three thousand zaires."† (source)
- The two on his right had subtly changed positions, had drawn closer together.† (source)
- All their doors remained simple doors, on/off switches in the flow between two adjacent places, binarily either open or closed, but each of their doors, regarded thus with a twinge of irrational possibility, became partially animate as well, an object with a subtle power to mock, to mock the desires of those who desired to go far away, whispering silently from its door frame that such dreams were the dreams of fools.† (source)
- His sense of humor was subtle, the kind that makes you giggle aloud when you're not supposed to.† (source)
- I had excellent vision going into the course, but it wasn't so much seeing as learning to perceive—knowing what sort of movement should get your attention, discerning subtle shapes that can tip off a waiting ambush.† (source)
- She made a gesture then, subtle as her smile, which was tinged with the faintest sadness, that I was to go on.† (source)
- Behind him was a globe, made of beaten brass, that didn't look quite like other globes she had seen; there was something subtly strange about the shape of the countries and continents.† (source)
- There's nothing out of place, but the house feels different, as though things have been touched, subtly shifted out of place, and as I walk around I feel as though there's someone else here, always just out of my line of sight.† (source)
- Harrington wasn't shocked by more subtle forms of racism away from the basketball court, but it had been a long time since he'd seen the overt version on it.† (source)
- Then came six subtly different values for her hull form block and prismatic coefficients.† (source)
- My father missed Cass, too, but his loss was more subtle.† (source)
- She wore her long hair loose and I noticed the subtle smell of her perfume, the sound of her breathing.† (source)
- But if they are well written, they may have more subtle ways of messing him up, so he's not wasting any time.† (source)
- ered her, for in death Rosa had been subtly transformed into the mermaid she had always been in secret.† (source)
- While campaigning, Swaney sent not-so-subtle signals to longtime residents that he understood their fears and concerns over the direction of their community.† (source)
- Second, I'm aware of the subtlety of being called on, acknowledged, and admired on the television circuit.† (source)
- He revealed it subtly without me realizing it.† (source)
- Fermina Daza, whose straightforward character had become more subtle with the years, seized on her husband's casual words, and months after the robbery she returned to the ships from Curacao and bought a royal Paramaribo parrot, who knew only the blasphemies of sailors but said them in a voice so human that he was well worth the extravagant price of twelve centavos.† (source)
- The really subtle thing is what happens next.† (source)
- She went to a special school for making hats in New York and every day she wore a new hat to work, constructed by her own hands out of bits of straw or fur or ribbon or veiling in subtle, bizarre shades.† (source)
- No one would ever claim that God gave Dad the gift of subtlety or diplomacy, at least not when he feels strongly about something, and especially when he feels strongly about something that involves one of his children.† (source)
- My hands are stained red from some of the crushed petals; and they smell of earth and newrose, a sharp-flower smell that I like in spite of my mother's comments about the oldrose perfume being more subtle, more delicate.† (source)
- It was, from instinct as much as her own subtle knowledge, the precisely correct answer to calm him.† (source)
- His approach wasn't all that different from a cloud eclipsing the sun, subtly darkening the landscape, hinting of a storm.† (source)
- The remaining students pointed and whispered with zero subtlety.† (source)
- At first the notes were thin, almost an undercurrent to the breeze, so subtle that he had to strain to hear them.† (source)
- It was easy enough to find the action—two hundred-odd kids gathered around a raging bonfire to eat wasn't exactly subtle.† (source)
- He took pains to avoid self-depreciation, self-mockery, ambiguity, irony, subtlety, vulnerability, a civilized world-weariness and a tragic sense of history— the very things, he says, that are most natural to him.† (source)
- As he got near he could smell her perfume mixed with another more subtle and potent that was all her own.† (source)
- Its leisurely tempo feels mismatched to the strenuousness of the exercise, but Shirakawa is subtly controlling his movements in time with the music.† (source)
- Forceful nags are extremely pushy and may include subtle threats, like "Well, then, I'll go and ask Dad."† (source)
- His dreams were different—subtly and cruelly and criminally different: this was not known yet, but it was felt.† (source)
- But at some subtle hour, the white mist is known to be gray, and the endlessness of labor has entered our limbs.† (source)
- The connective tissue under the skin had been destroyed by the virus, causing a subtle distortion of the face.† (source)
- It started subtly, like a weird itch under my skin.† (source)
- Dinner's on the table," my mother hints not too subtly.† (source)
- It was harder to find, subtle.† (source)
- The witness, a stout man of twenty-eight with a moon-shaped but intelligent, subtly delicate face, took a deep breath, as though to equip himself for a prolonged reply-which the judge then cautioned him he must not make: "You may answer the question yes or no, Doctor.† (source)
- "I never was very good at being subtle," he said, "so I will come right out and say it: What went wrong yesterday?† (source)
- And now the lighting shifts subtly to suggest the world of WALTER'S imagination, and the mood shifts from pure comedy† (source)
- A few blocks from the dorm, Chiniqua mentions another recent movie, Waiting to Exhale, which deals a litde more subtly with some of the same race/class/ authenticity issues.† (source)
- "It's a subtle problem," Augustus said.† (source)
- For a few minutes they pressed ahead in silence; then some subtle excitement made them break into a run.† (source)
- But they're so subtle that only smart people get them.† (source)
- Another deep sigh, another subtle shifting of weight, and then she takes a couple of steps backward.† (source)
- "Had I the powers, I could do you much good," he told Rush not very subtly, "but I am sure you will never give any man the necessary power."† (source)
- Another reason for his indifference to the Japanese removal was more subtle but was more profoundly felt.† (source)
- The new president had also promised, not very subtly, a change of fortunes for the Haitian elite.† (source)
- To be sure, there are more subtle means of doing so than coming right out and telling the buyer to bid low.† (source)
- He saw a simple, sincere face that was incapable of subtlety or guile, an honest, frank face with disunited large eyes, rusty hair, black eyebrows and an unfortunate reddish-brown mustache.† (source)
- All it took was an angry word or some insult, however slight, and the subtle differences in our characters vanished and you would have thought we were children of Beelzebub, unbound.† (source)
- It could very well have been, however, that my aunt did not take subtle enjoyment of her friend, but, a wild woman, kept rollicking company.† (source)
- She wanted a glass of wine, something chilly with a subtle zip.† (source)
- The gestures were complex and subtle, involving a delicacy of motion that has since been lost completely.† (source)
- It took me time to decode the subtle changes in our behavior, but I knew intuitively that we were entering a new phase of our existence together.† (source)
- The ogre must have sensed something, some subtle change in Max that the human mourners could not feel.† (source)
- But I was learning something every day, resolving some new subtlety or mystery through observation or instruction.† (source)
- I had so much to tell her, but the day had changed so subtly from what I had planned.† (source)
- Kamila asked without the slightest effort at subtlety.† (source)
- He shows the familiar subtle signs of someone who is supremely conscious of being stared at and judged by his appearance.† (source)
- It is fashioned in an elven-script of Eregion, for they have no letters in Mordor for such subtle work; but the language is unknown to me.† (source)
- I uncovered a single steppingstone, slightly worn, that led nowhere, yet lay as a subtle appendage to the small rock garden.† (source)
- That was his subtle way of telling me he wanted to be alone.† (source)
- But Charles's suspicions had manifested themselves in a form visible yet subtle, and Aven's breath caught in her throat when she saw it.† (source)
- The delicacy of her husband's manner, the subtlety of his mind How could I have understood so little?† (source)
- His wit was hatpin sharp; he was absentminded; he was a bachelor but gave the impression of harboring amusing memories; he possessed a yellow cat nineteen years old; he was incomprehensible to most of Maycomb County because his conversation was colored with subtle allusions to Victorian obscurities.† (source)
- What it lacks in subtlety ....† (source)
- The time for subtlety had passed.† (source)
- Throughout the six months at Pendleton, all of Spearhead's boys, veterans and new Marines alike, sensed a subtle but unmistakable new climate of respect from the brass.† (source)
- As if he'd actually heard the subtle sound of Vlad's fingertips lightly brushing metal, D'Ablo stiffened, then turned to face them.† (source)
- A slight edge crept into her tone, so subtle I almost missed it.† (source)
- Her oceans and lakes are sick; her rivers are like running sores; The air is filled with subtle poisons.† (source)
- My ...instruments are not as subtle as I'd hoped.† (source)
- Baugh sees both sides of this, having felt the pull both ways: "At a young age, then, I received mixed messages about language; some were overt, advocating that I 'speak properly' and avoid 'bad language,' whereas others were more subtle, reflected by the hippest Sisters and Brothers who emphatically rejected 'white speech.† (source)
- I've already started (very subtly) working on my mom, and she seems sort of open to the whole thing.† (source)
- The queen reinforced his subtle hint with a nod at one of the attendants, and a chair was brought forward.† (source)
- Had nature so subtly hidden zero that all the Greeks and all the Romans...millions of them...couldn't find it?† (source)
- I would be basically the same, I thought, stirring my coffee, yet so subtly changed as to intrigue those who had never been North.† (source)
- The first moves of the pavane had to be subtle, neither too much nor too little, but warranting attention.† (source)
- A subtle change comes over Ann.† (source)
- And that, in some subtle way, made the human brain different.† (source)
- It was subtle, but it was there.† (source)
- Prof's purpose was to short him out—but sometimes Prof was too subtle; some people talk better if they breathe vacuum.† (source)
- Only on a night with an exceptional moon can the river rightfully claim its light or any other subtlety.† (source)
- Her footsteps fall subtly in the hallway, trailed by Daddy's heavy tread and garbled entreaty not to go.† (source)
- That subtle answer connected some dots and provided a good starting point for this operation.† (source)
- He knew how to press them subtly on equivocal points, and how to apologize without a word when he had overstepped.† (source)
- He wondered, for the first time, whether her spite, her sarcasm, the cowardly manner of delivering insults under the protection of a smile, were not the opposite of what he had always taken them to be-not a method of torture, but a twisted form of despair, not a desire to make him suffer, but a confession of her own pain, a defense for the pride of an unloved wife, a secret plea-so that the subtle, the hinted, the evasive in her manner, the thing begging to be understood, was not the open malice, but the hidden love.† (source)
- Focus on the personal, the "I" of the title, not the subtly sermonizing "We.† (source)
- His friendly manner, eagerness to walk unannounced into houses, subtlety with the local dialect, familiarity with classical Chinese and history, and enthusiastic interest in nu shu—something that he had not known existed—helped make my journey especially fruitful.† (source)
- He seemed to look out on the world from on high with subtle bemusement, as if everything smaller people did was slightly funny.† (source)
- ELESIN in his motions appears to feel for a direction of sound, subtly, but he only sinks deeper into his trance-dance.† (source)
- He wears a blue suit with the most subtle pinstripes.† (source)
- The intermixture was subtle beyond Petra's grasp, but enough of it reached her to give her an unwonted, wide-eyed seriousness for some seconds as she looked up into the woman's eyes; as if she knew in some way, without understanding how or why, that this was one of the cardinal moments of her life.† (source)
- This was apparently too subtle for the trolls.† (source)
- Will you do it subtly though, Jas?† (source)
- He managed to free both blades with a subtle twist, dancing away as the mortally wounded giant toppled to the ground.† (source)
- Their influence within the media is widespread—yet as subtle as a web of cloud shadows on the skin of a pond, which makes it all the more effective.† (source)
- Before I can worry too much for his safety, her face subtly changes.† (source)
- Acknowledging this subtle gesture, he said, "This will all go in the report as though it took place at our initial meeting at the Pentagon."† (source)
- He talked steadily through the stop and go, freely using his hands to punctuate his speech, the movements subtle but stylized, what I recognized as Anglo.† (source)
- His appreciation of growing things became more subtle, turned within a more limited spectrum and gradually Lalla's visits tapered away.† (source)
- No. Not at all," he said, sounding as if he were telling a subtle joke.† (source)
- The stars gave off a special light, more subtle and luminous than moonlight.† (source)
- All the way home, that subtle difference nags at William Crook.† (source)
- This is a case, as with women's fashion, where the subtle, "surface" differences are actually the whole of the subject.† (source)
- Her long arms and slender hands caught the subtle accents of the music perfectly, and the flexibility and strength in her legs reflected the hard work and dedication required of a dancer.† (source)
- She was still stroking Bloomberg, still succoring him, forcibly, into the subtle and difficult world outside warm afghans.† (source)
- I am most curious, General, as to your attitude toward a subtle subject: the inside straight.† (source)
- The boundaries between the mental activities of sense, perception, judgment, desire, choice, memory, and imagination elude the subtlest investigations and are a source of controversy.† (source)
- Eckels stood smelling of the air, and there was a thing to the air, a chemical taint so subtle, so slight, that only a faint cry of his subliminal senses warned him it was there.† (source)
- She made a subtle sort of tucking-in move that caused his tap to glance off of her, and she bent to fit the hangers into the bureau drawer.† (source)
- He still didn't say anything, but he smiled and exhaled a subtle laugh, holding out a closed fist.† (source)
- Now he arrived with all the subtlety of a visiting head of state, a circle of bodyguards protecting him, Raphael wriggling in his grasp.† (source)
- Then, I was told about the subtle color variations in the different ASA ratings, and the strobe flash unit as well as bracketing exposures and the advantages and disadvantages of motor drives.† (source)
- Now if you're going to be subtle, well miss each other in the dark.† (source)
- Always, I was reckless and moving at full speed, and I never learned the potency of stillness, the craft of subtlety.† (source)
- Her appearance had undergone subtle changes during the course of the years.† (source)
- Such a far-off and remembered odor comes subtly so that one does not consciously smell it, but rather an electric excitement is released—a kind of boisterous joy.† (source)
- He was looking, you see, for some human error in a scheme of almost superhuman subtlety.† (source)
- In the 15¢ dark green from the 1893 Columbian Exposition Issue ("Columbus Announcing His Discovery"), the faces of three courtiers, receiving the news at the right-hand side of the stamp, had been subtly altered to express uncontrollable fright.† (source)
- I interpreted their interest as a subtle suggestion that they were hungry and thirsty after their long journey and would appreciate some tea and food.† (source)
- Yet here the tone was subtly conniving.† (source)
- I have listened too often to his sermons, to his subtle parables, to believe that he would do a thing such as this without a purpose.† (source)
- "You have a nice schlong, Stingo," she said, grasping me delicately but with a subtle, knowing firmness.† (source)
- The lights alter subtly; in the act of putting on her glasses ANNIE hears something that stops her with head lifted.† (source)
- The cop on the beat had another advantage, more subtle and yet even more important: he need not be bored.† (source)
- He had ceased to wonder if the action was wise, for Kareilen's plans were often too subtle for merely human understanding.† (source)
- MORE (Wearily) Oh, Roper, you're a fool, God's my god ...(Rather bitterly) But I find him rather too (Very bitterly) subtle ....I don't know where he is nor what he wants.† (source)
- He cleverly turned her wretchedness to his advantage, and when it suited him subtly reminded her of her shame.† (source)
- There was the subtle, curious odor, like fresh hay, and like a hospital, but not quite like either, and so faint that it was scarcely possible to be sure that it existed.† (source)
- He's your sort of person, a very good man, a very subtle mind, brilliant.† (source)
- Always he talked, his talking was his appearance, as if there were no eyes, nose, or mouth to remember; in his face there was every subtlety and eloquence, and no features, no kindness, for there was no awareness whatever of the present.† (source)
- His bearing conveyed the subtle suggestion that he was at heart one of them.† (source)
- But she could not forget it, even if he had; and there was a subtle difference in the way she spoke to him.† (source)
- Subtly, I turned my eyes toward the king.† (source)
- 'Subtlety has never been Peeves's strong point.† (source)
▲ show less (of above)