All 4 Uses of
subtle
in
Washington Square
- She took children too hard, both for good and for evil, and had an oppressive air of expecting subtle things of them, so that going to see her was a good deal like being taken to church and made to sit in a front pew.†
Chpt 3
- In addition to your good right arm, you have your subtle brain.†
Chpt 9 *
- It was not remarkable that a person of so much subtlety should have discovered that Catherine had been shut up with the Doctor.†
Chpt 19
- Such a saying as that was a part of his great subtlety—men so clever as he might say anything and mean anything.†
Chpt 24 *
Definitions:
-
(subtle as in: a subtle shade of blue) understated so as not to draw excess attention
-
(subtle as in: a subtle difference or thinker) 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)