3 meanings
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1 —as in:
a subtle poison
Definition
working in an indirect or hidden way- She is working subtly against us.
subtly = working in an indirect or hidden way
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- It is a subtle poison. In small doses, it might never be detected, but eventually your heart will fail.
- But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler.George Orwell -- 1984
- There wasn't any poison, nothing as subtle as that.John Knowles -- A Separate Peace
- 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.Rick Riordan -- The Blood of Olympus
- What if this were all a subtle trap?Corrie ten Boom -- The Hiding Place
- she hated Miriam for having in this subtle way undermined his joy.D.H. Lawrence -- Sons and Lovers
- He had felt a subtle, dark, and murmurous presence penetrate his being...James Joyce -- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
- There is a misty plot afoot so subtle we should be criminal to cling to old respects and ancient friendships.Arthur Miller -- The Crucible
- Some were shamelessly open, some shamelessly subtle.John Howard Griffin -- Black Like Me
subtle = working in a way that is hard to see
subtler = more indirect (harder to recognize)
subtle = working in a hidden way
subtly = working in an indirect or hidden way
subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
subtle = hidden and harmful
subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
2 —as in:
a subtle shade of blue
Definition
understated so as not to draw attention to itself- a subtle, but unmistakable warning
subtle = understated so as not to draw attention to itself
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- She likes dramatic statements, but he prefers to be subtle.
- a subtle elegance
- 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.Kiera Cass -- The Selection
- I pulled into an open spot and looked up at a tastefully subtle sign that read JASON SCOTT, ATTORNEY AT LAW.Stephenie Meyer -- Breaking Dawn
- The river slid by in a body, utterly silent and swift, intertwining among itself like some subtle, complex creature.D.H. Lawrence -- Sons and Lovers
- It is not bad—at first, and very gentle, but quite the subtlest, most enduring odor I ever met.Charlotte Perkins Gilman -- The Yellow Wallpaper
- It was easy enough to find the action—two hundred–odd kids gathered around a raging bonfire to eat wasn't exactly subtle.Alexandra Bracken -- The Darkest Minds
- And we ourselves become somehow not ourselves, but we turn subtler, weirder, less attached to our bodies, less attached to our names.David Almond -- Clay
- Charlie, in an obvious maneuver that he meant to be subtle, shrugged in between us and put his arm around my shoulders.Stephenie Meyer -- Eclipse
subtle = understated or restrained (to say things in a quiet way)
subtle = not obvious, but noticeable
subtle = understated so as not to draw attention to itself
subtle = understated so as not to draw attention to itself
subtlest = most understated
subtle = understated so as not to draw attention to itself
subtler = more understated (less obvious as individuals)
subtle = understated so as not to draw attention
3 —as in:
a subtle difference or thinker
Definition
not obvious, but understandable by someone with adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge (perhaps depending upon fine distinctions)or:
capable of understanding things that require sensitivity and relevant knowledge (perhaps understanding fine distinctions)
- She used subtle reasoning to expose the absurdity of his argument.
subtle = making use of slight distinctions
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- She has a good eye for subtle differences in color.
- She guessed which spices were used by their subtle aromas.
- his whole attitude had undergone a subtle change
- Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports.Sun, Tzu -- The Art of War
- 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.George Orwell -- 1984
- In a hard and warlike time he was celebrate that he have more iron nerve, more subtle brain, more braver heart, than any man.Bram Stoker -- Dracula
- You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking,J.K. Rowling -- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- 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.F. Scott Fitzgerald -- The Great Gatsby
- 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.Erich Maria Remarque -- All Quiet on the Western Front
subtle = not obvious, but identifiable by someone with adequate sensitivity
subtle = not obvious, but identifiable by someone with adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge
subtle = only understandable by someone with relevant knowledge
subtle = clever (capable of understanding things not comprehensible to most)
subtle = difficult to understand without adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge
subtly = not obvious (perhaps depending upon little understood distinctions)
subtly = in a manner that focuses on things other than those that are the most pressing