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.

Wiktionary2.5 / 2 votes

  1. subtleadjective

    Hard to grasp; not obvious or easily understood; barely noticeable.

    The difference is subtle, but you can hear it if you listen carefully.

    Antonyms:
    simple

  2. subtleadjective

    Cunning, skillful.

    Synonyms:
    cunning, crafty, skillful

  3. subtleadjective

    insidious

    Synonyms:
    insidious

English Synonyms and Antonyms2.0 / 3 votes

  1. 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, subtile

    Antonyms:
    blind, dull, idiotic, imbecile, shallow, short-sighted, stolid, stupid, undiscerning, unintelligent

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms3.3 / 3 votes

  1. subtle

    Synonyms:
    sly, artful, cunning, insinuating, wily, astute, nice, discriminating, crafty, fine, shrewd, sophistical, jesuitical

    Antonyms:
    open, frank, honest, artless, undiscriminating, rough, blunt, undiscerning, unsophisticated, simple

Princeton's WordNet1.0 / 1 vote

  1. 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, problematical

    Antonyms:
    tangible, unperceptive, harmless, palpable, unperceiving

  2. subtleadjective

    able to make fine distinctions

    "a subtle mind"

    Synonyms:
    insidious, elusive, pernicious

    Antonyms:
    tangible, harmless, palpable, unperceptive, unperceiving

  3. insidious, 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, deadly

    Antonyms:
    unperceiving, tangible, unperceptive, harmless, palpable

Dictionary of English Synonymes0.0 / 0 votes

  1. subtleadjective

    Synonyms:
    crafty, cunning, artful, sly, wily, arch, astute, designing, intriguing, insinuating, crooked, tricky, diplomatic, machiavelian

  2. subtleadjective

    Synonyms:
    acute, keen, shrewd, sagacious, deep, profound

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words0.0 / 0 votes

  1. subtleadjective

    Synonyms:
    artful, cunning, sly, designing, crafty, refined, discriminating

PPDB, the paraphrase database1.0 / 1 vote

  1. List of paraphrases for "subtle":

    delicate, sophisticated, discreet, nuanced, cunning, perceptive

Suggested Resources

  1. subtle

    Song lyrics by subtle -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by subtle on the Lyrics.com website.

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Words popularity by usage frequency

rankingword
#1114fine
#1157nice
#3091sharp
#4704knowing
#4924tough
#5690acute
#6642sophisticated
#9200deadly
#9217keen
#9840subtle
#11658delicate
#13204discreet
#14988problematic
#20139elusive
#22283penetrating
#23246sly
#24948discerning
#25806crafty
#26623cunning
#29124discriminating
#34018astute
#34606skillful
#35834artful
#39559insidious
#43378perceptive
#44318shrewd
#48711pernicious
#48777wily
#51400nuanced
#53611baffling
#68031knotty
#106936insinuating
#107333problematical
#127341sagacious
#132519baneful
#135647penetrative
#206784subtile
#223678sophistical
#245384pestilent
#268563perspicacious

How to use subtle in a sentence?

  1. Epic Games:

    Recent events are a heavy reminder of ongoing injustices in society, from the denial of basic human rights to the impact of racism both overt and subtle against people of color, the team is eager to move Fortnite forward, but we need to balance the Season 3 launch with time for the team to focus on themselves, their families, and their communities.

  2. Margaret Johnson:

    SB 25 is a not-so-subtle way of giving medical personnel the opportunity to impose the religious beliefs on pregnant women by withholding information about the condition of their fetus and depriving them of making an informed decision about continuing with their pregnancy.

  3. Michael Mann:

    The impacts of climate change are no longer subtle, we are seeing them play out in real time in the form of unprecedented heatwaves, floods, droughts and wildfires. And we've seen them all this summer.

  4. Susie Lee:

    Siren's touchstones always reference what I discern works in real life, give women the chance to send subtle cues of interest, men to show off a little of who they are, friends to recommend good men and people to make each other smile.

  5. Lori Tremmel Freeman:

    I think there are subtle shifts being made at the local level health departments to normalize the pandemic response in a way that allows them to get back to the core work of their public health departments, but those words that were used about the pandemic ending are not well circulated in the public health area right now.


Translations for subtle

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"subtle." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/subtle>.

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