Synonyms for delicate
ˈdɛl ɪ kɪtdel·i·cate

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:2.3 / 4 votes

1. delicateadjective

   Synonyms:
   fragile

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.5 / 2 votes

1. delicate

   Fine (Latin finis, end) denotes that which has been brought to a full end, finished. From this root-sense many derived meanings branch out, causing words quite remote from each other to be alike synonyms of fine. That which is truly finished, brought to an ideal end, is excellent of its kind, and beautiful, if a thing that admits of beauty; as, a fine house, fine trees, a fine woman, a fine morning; if a thing that admits of the removal of impurities, it is not finished till these are removed, and hence fine signifies clarified, clear, pure, refined; as, fine gold. That which is finished is apt to be polished, smooth to the touch, minutely exact in outline; hence fine comes to be a synonym for all words like dainty, delicate, exquisite; as, fine manners, a fine touch, fine perceptions. As that which is delicate is apt to be small, by an easy extension of meaning fine becomes a synonym for slender, slight, minute, comminuted; as, a fine thread, fine sand; or for filmy, tenuous, thin; as, a fine lace, fine wire; and as a thin edge is keen, sharp, fine becomes also a synonym for these words; as, a fine point, a fine edge. Compare BEAUTIFUL; MINUTE.

   Synonyms:
   beautiful, clarified, clear, comminuted, dainty, elegant, excellent, exquisite, fine, gauzy, handsome, keen, minute, nice, polished, pure, refined, sensitive, sharp, slender, slight, small, smooth, splendid, subtile, subtle, tenuous, thin

   Antonyms:
   big, blunt, clumsy, coarse, great, heavy, huge, immense, large, rude, stout, thick

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 3 votes

1. delicateadjective

   exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury

   "a delicate violin passage"; "delicate china"; "a delicate flavor"; "the delicate wing of a butterfly"

   Synonyms:
   fragile, finespun, touchy, frail, soft, ticklish

   Antonyms:
   easy, unrefined, unbreakable, rugged, unskilled, toughened, knockabout, sturdy, insensitive, tough

2. delicateadjective

   marked by great skill especially in meticulous technique

   "a surgeon's delicate touch"

   Synonyms:
   fragile, finespun, touchy, frail, soft, ticklish

   Antonyms:
   insensitive, knockabout, sturdy, unskilled, toughened, unrefined, tough, rugged, unbreakable, easy

3. delicate, fragile, frailadjective

   easily broken or damaged or destroyed

   "a kite too delicate to fly safely"; "fragile porcelain plates"; "fragile old bones"; "a frail craft"

   Synonyms:
   slight, fallible, imperfect, tenuous, ticklish, soft, fragile, touchy, frail, thin, flimsy, weak, finespun

   Antonyms:
   unbreakable, tough, insensitive, rugged, unskilled, knockabout, unrefined, sturdy, easy, toughened

4. delicate, softadjective

   easily hurt

   "soft hands"; "a baby's delicate skin"

   Synonyms:
   cushy, indulgent, mild, easy, piano, balmy, lenient, voiced, easygoing, soft, diffused, frail, flabby, subdued, diffuse, sonant, flaccid, ticklish, gentle, finespun, touchy, fragile

   Antonyms:
   tough, sturdy, unskilled, toughened, unbreakable, easy, knockabout, insensitive, unrefined, rugged

5. finespun, delicateadjective

   developed with extreme delicacy and subtlety

   "the satire touches with finespun ridicule every kind of human pretense"

   Synonyms:
   ticklish, soft, fragile, touchy, frail, hairsplitting, finespun

   Antonyms:
   unbreakable, tough, sturdy, unrefined, rugged, easy, unskilled, knockabout, toughened, insensitive

6. delicate, ticklish, touchyadjective

   difficult to handle; requiring great tact

   "delicate negotiations with the big powers";"hesitates to be explicit on so ticklish a matter"; "a touchy subject"

   Synonyms:
   feisty, ticklish, soft, fragile, touchy, frail, huffy, thin-skinned, finespun

   Antonyms:
   easy, toughened, unbreakable, insensitive, knockabout, sturdy, unskilled, rugged, tough, unrefined

7. delicateadjective

   of an instrument or device; capable of registering minute differences or changes precisely

   "almost undetectable with even the most delicate instruments"

   Synonyms:
   fragile, finespun, touchy, frail, soft, ticklish

   Antonyms:
   unskilled, tough, toughened, rugged, knockabout, insensitive, unbreakable, unrefined, easy, sturdy

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. improvise

   fast to break

   the vase is delicate

   Submitted by rinat on October 2, 2019  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. delicateadjective

   Synonyms:
   pleasant, pleasing, delicious, agreeable, savory, palatable

2. delicateadjective

   Synonyms:
   fine, nice, elegant, exquisite

3. delicateadjective

   Synonyms:
   tender, slender, weak

4. delicateadjective

   Synonyms:
   discriminating, careful, scrupulous, fastidious, dainty, of nice perception

5. delicateadjective

   Synonyms:
   refined, pure

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. delicateadjective

   Synonyms:
   graceful, fine, exquisite, minute, slender, refined, sensitive, fastidious, dainty, critical, ticklish

   Antonyms:
   indelicate

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "delicate":

   sensitive, fragile, subtle, tricky, thorny, difficult, awkward, precarious, minute, vulnerable

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How to use delicate in a sentence?

1. Jen Ramsey:

   Be patient - let yourself unfurl one delicate leaf at a time.

2. Troy Vincent:

   I’m just praying for the young man, personally, today. I’m praying for him and his family. I’m praying for the young ladies that have come out. This is not good for anybody, forget the sport, but I think we’ve learned that every situation’s different. They’re delicate. You make sure that folks, whether it’s the accuser, the victim, whoever it may be, that there’s a due process in place. And I think we’ve learned that over time, not that we’ve rushed in the past, but I think we’ve learned from the different cases that we’ve seen with this particular subject matter, let the due process take care of itself, then that’s up to Lisa [Friel, NFL special counsel for investigations] and her team to now make the proper recommendations to what direction the commissioner and the commissioner’s office should take.

3. Han Tan:

   Global investors have had their emotions toyed with amidst the ever-shifting sands of the U.S.-China trade conflict, market nerves have been left raw, with the delicate sentiment prompting knee-jerk reactions to every nuance pertaining to the highly unpredictable U.S.-China trade impasse.

4. Adam Mount:

   It's a very delicate time for negotiations, north Korea has incentives not to alarm or shock this administration too. I think most observers expect them to avoid assertive or surprising or shocking signals along those lines.

5. Ziga Adibe:

   We have been losing our crops and witnessing significant drops in agricultural output for the past 15 years. We no longer master the planting season. Rice cultivation is so delicate that when you miss the planting period slightly, you just have to mourn for your loss, what we learned from our parents as children is no longer useful.