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 a way that is hard to see
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- It is a subtle poison. In small doses, it might never be detected, but eventually your heart will fail.
- Or Katharine would die, and by subtle maneuverings Winston and Julia would succeed in getting married.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
subtle = indirect or hidden
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- Her warning was subtle, but unmistakable.
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 guessed which spices were used by their subtle aromas.
- She has a good eye for subtle differences in color.
- Her 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
- But those changes are subtle and hard to measure.Louis Sachar -- Holes
- 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
subtle = not obvious, but identifiable by someone with adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge
subtle = not obvious, but identifiable by someone with adequate sensitivity
subtle = not obvious, but noticeable by someone with adequate sensitivity
subtle = requiring fine distinctions and relevant knowledge
subtle = difficult to notice
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)