Link Centre Dictionary

subtlety

subt·lety

US/ˈsʌt(ə)lti/ uncommon archaic obsolete

noun

1.

a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude

  • “without understanding the finer nuances you can”
  • “;”
  • “t argue about shades of meaning”
Synonyms
2.

the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze

  • “you had to admire the subtlety of the distinctions he drew”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English sotilte, from Old French sutilté, inherited from Latin subtīlitās, from subtīlis (“subtle”). Equivalent to subtle + -ty. Doublet of subtility.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.