Subtlety definition

sŭtl-tē
subtleties
See word origin
Frequency:
Something subtle, especially a nicety of thought or a fine distinction.
noun
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Subtlety is defined as having indirect or small distinctions.

An example of subtlety is when a painter uses slightly different colors to create a beautiful, detailed painting.

noun
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(uncountable) The quality or fact of being subtle.

With all his usual subtlety, he quietly fixed the problem before anyone else noticed it.

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(countable) An instance of being subtle, a subtle thing, especially a subtle argument or distinction.

The subtleties of this overture are often overlooked.

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(countable) An ornate medieval illusion dish or table decoration, especially when made from one thing but crafted to look like another.

At the king's coronation feast, several subtleties were served between main courses.

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The quality or condition of being subtle; esp., the ability or tendency to make fine distinctions.
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The quality or state of being subtle.
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Something subtle; esp., a fine distinction.
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
subtlety
Plural:
subtleties

Origin of subtlety

  • From Old French sutilté, from Latin subtÄ«litās, from subtÄ«lis (“subtle").

    From Wiktionary

Subtlety Sentence Examples

  • It is, in fact, important rather as a rhetorcial subtlety than as a serious argu ment.

  • With perfect subtlety Bonaparte worked on the feelings of all and kept his own intentions secret.

  • He preferred the direct approach over any form of subtlety.

  • No amount of subtlety will remove the difference between a categorical judgment of existence, e.g.

  • It is compelled to accept its first principles on trust from the science in which it is employed; it cannot cope with the subtlety of nature; and it is radically vitiated by being founded on hastily and inaccurately abstracted notions of things.

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Words near subtlety in the Dictionary