What is another word for subtle?
Synonyms for subtle
ˈsʌt lsub·tle
This thesaurus page includes all potential synonyms, words with the same meaning and similar terms for the word subtle.
Wiktionary
English Synonyms and Antonyms
subtle
Acute, from the Latin, suggests the sharpness of the needle's point; keen, from the Saxon, the sharpness of the cutting edge. Astute, from the Latin, with the original sense of cunning has come to have a meaning that combines the sense of acute or keen with that of sagacious. The astute mind adds to acuteness and keenness an element of cunning or finesse. The astute debater leads his opponents into a snare by getting them to make admissions, or urge arguments, of which he sees a result that they do not perceive. The acute, keen intellect may take no special advantage of these qualities; the astute mind has always a point to make for itself, and seldom fails to make it. A knowing look, air, etc., in general indicates practical knowledge with a touch of shrewdness, and perhaps of cunning; in regard to some special matter, it indicates the possession of reserved knowledge which the person could impart if he chose. Knowing has often a slightly invidious sense. We speak of a knowing rascal, meaning cunning or shrewd within a narrow range, but of a knowing horse or dog, in the sense of sagacious, implying that he knows more than could be expected of such an animal. A knowing child has more knowledge than would be looked for at his years, perhaps more than is quite desirable, while to speak of a child as intelligent is altogether complimentary.
Synonyms:
acute, astute, clear-sighted, crafty, cunning, discerning, discriminating, keen, knowing, penetrating, penetrative, perspicacious, sagacious, sharp, shrewd, subtileAntonyms:
blind, dull, idiotic, imbecile, shallow, short-sighted, stolid, stupid, undiscerning, unintelligent
Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms
subtle
Synonyms:
sly, artful, cunning, insinuating, wily, astute, nice, discriminating, crafty, fine, shrewd, sophistical, jesuiticalAntonyms:
open, frank, honest, artless, undiscriminating, rough, blunt, undiscerning, unsophisticated, simple
Princeton's WordNet
elusive, subtleadjective
difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
"his whole attitude had undergone a subtle change"; "a subtle difference"; "that elusive thing the soul"
Synonyms:
pernicious, baffling, problematic, knotty, tough, insidious, elusive, problematicalAntonyms:
tangible, unperceptive, harmless, palpable, unperceivingsubtleadjective
able to make fine distinctions
"a subtle mind"
Synonyms:
insidious, elusive, perniciousAntonyms:
tangible, harmless, palpable, unperceptive, unperceivinginsidious, pernicious, subtleadjective
working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
"glaucoma is an insidious disease"; "a subtle poison"
Synonyms:
pestilent, elusive, baneful, pernicious, insidious, deadlyAntonyms:
unperceiving, tangible, unperceptive, harmless, palpable
Dictionary of English Synonymes
subtleadjective
Synonyms:
crafty, cunning, artful, sly, wily, arch, astute, designing, intriguing, insinuating, crooked, tricky, diplomatic, machiaveliansubtleadjective
Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words
PPDB, the paraphrase database
List of paraphrases for "subtle":
delicate, sophisticated, discreet, nuanced, cunning, perceptive
Suggested Resources
subtle
Song lyrics by subtle -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by subtle on the Lyrics.com website.
Words popularity by usage frequency
ranking | word | |
---|---|---|
#1114 | fine | |
#1157 | nice | |
#3091 | sharp | |
#4704 | knowing | |
#4924 | tough | |
#5690 | acute | |
#6642 | sophisticated | |
#9200 | deadly | |
#9217 | keen | |
#9840 | subtle | |
#11658 | delicate | |
#13204 | discreet | |
#14988 | problematic | |
#20139 | elusive | |
#22283 | penetrating | |
#23246 | sly | |
#24948 | discerning | |
#25806 | crafty | |
#26623 | cunning | |
#29124 | discriminating | |
#34018 | astute | |
#34606 | skillful | |
#35834 | artful | |
#39559 | insidious | |
#43378 | perceptive | |
#44318 | shrewd | |
#48711 | pernicious | |
#48777 | wily | |
#51400 | nuanced | |
#53611 | baffling | |
#68031 | knotty | |
#106936 | insinuating | |
#107333 | problematical | |
#127341 | sagacious | |
#132519 | baneful | |
#135647 | penetrative | |
#206784 | subtile | |
#223678 | sophistical | |
#245384 | pestilent | |
#268563 | perspicacious |
How to use subtle in a sentence?
Since Raul took over, repressive strategies have become more subtle, not necessarily less brutal.
There may be exigencies at times, but we need to find more subtle ways of dealing with it.
It could be that the rolling motion hides some subtle aspects about the health of this sperm or how well it can travel quickly, these are all very hypothetical questions. What we hope is that more scientist and fertility experts will become interested and ask,' OK, how does this influence infertility ?'.
Earnestness is not by any means everything; it is very often a subtle form of pious pride because it is obsessed with the method and not with the Master.
I’ve been telling people to go out at night on either Sunday or Monday night to see the supermoon, the difference in distance from one night to the next will be very subtle, so if it’s cloudy on Sunday, go out on Monday. Any time after sunset should be fine. The last time the full moon was this close to Earth was 1948, NASA says. BEHOLD, THE' PILLARS OF DESTRUCTION' The moon only appears full from Earth when our planet is between the sun and the moon. But since the moon’s orbit has an elliptical shape, sometimes it is closer to Earth than other times. Astronomers call the closest-to-the-Earth moment the perigee. What makes November 14 special is that the moon.
Translations for subtle
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- رقيقArabic
- subtilCatalan, Valencian
- scharfsinnig, spitzfindig, fast unmerklich, feinsinnig, raffiniert, haarfein, ausgetüftelt, schlau, dezentGerman
- διακριτικόGreek
- subtilaEsperanto
- sutilSpanish
- hienoinen, salakavala, ovela, hienovarainenFinnish
- délicat, subtilFrench
- caolchúiseach, glicIrish
- דק, עלום, טמיר, עדין, חמקמק, מרומז, עמום, מעודןHebrew
- सूक्ष्मHindi
- kifinomultHungarian
- halusIndonesian
- sottile, inafferrabileItalian
- 捕らえ難い, 巧妙Japanese
- ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮKannada
- 세밀한Korean
- subtelnyPolish
- sutilPortuguese
- хитрый, неуловимый, коварныйRussian
- subtilSwedish
- நுட்பமானTamil
- kurnazca, güç algılanan, mâhirâne, zor algılanan, ustaca, sinsice, zekîceTurkish
- 微妙Chinese
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Translation
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"subtle." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/subtle>.
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