Meaning of subtle | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Senses relating to tangible things.
2. Of an action or movement: very delicate or slight, and thus barely noticeable; not obvious; inconspicuous, unintrusive.
3. Having a delicate or fine substance or texture; hence, exquisite, refined.
   archaic
4. Slender, thin.
   archaic
5. Of a substance: finely powdered; also, of particles of a substance: very fine or small.
   archaic
6. Of weight: after the tare (“weight of an empty container”) has been subtracted; net.
   archaic
7. Of a substance, especially a gas or liquid: of low density or thin consistency; rarefied, tenuous; hence, tending to spread everywhere due to this quality.
   historical
8. Synonym of subtile (“of a ship: narrow, slender”).
   obsolete
9. Senses relating to intangible things.
10. Of an argument or concept, words, etc.: requiring one to distinguish between fine points, especially if it is difficult to do so; nice; also (generally), difficult to grasp; not easily understood or obvious.
11. Giving only a slight impression; elusive, indistinct; also, skilfully restrained or understated.
12. Of an artist, a musician, etc.: having a light touch; sensitive.
13. Of a person: sensitive to the feelings of others; discreet, tactful.
14. Of a person, their intellect or mind, etc.: discerning, perceptive, shrewd, wise.
15. Acting (especially causing harm) in a stealthy, often gradual, manner; insidious.
16. Of a person or their fingers or hands, their ability, etc.: dexterous, skilful.
    archaic
17. Of a person or animal, or of an action or words: clever or skilful in a crafty or devious way; cunning, sly, wily.
    archaic
18. Of ground used for bowling: not smooth; uneven.
    obsolete
19. Of an object: cleverly contrived or made; also, of a plan, etc.: cleverly contrived or carried out.
    obsolete

Equivalents

Examples

“The mighty Magnet from the Center darts / This ſtrong, tho' ſubtile Force, thro' all the Parts: / Its active Rays ejaculated thence, / Irradiate all the wide Circumference.”

“The difference between the tones is subtle, but you can hear it if you listen carefully.”

“Although the show gradually grows more subtle, much of the early writing that establishes the characters is so on the nose it hurts. Any time we see Walt [Walter White] in class, it’s certain that what he writes on the chalkboard will echo events in his secret life.”

“[T]his heauenly foode is giuen for the ſatisfying of our emptie ſoules, and not for the exerciſing of our curious and ſubtle vvits.”

“Lords and Commons of England, conſider vvhat Nation it is vvherof ye are, and vvherof ye are the governours: a Nation not ſlovv and dull, but of a quick, ingenious, and piercing ſpirit, acute to invent, ſuttle and ſinevvy to diſcours, not beneath the reach of any point the higheſt that human capacity can ſoar to.”

“VVhen ſubtle VVits have ſpun their thred too fine, / Tis vveak and fragile like Arachnes line: […]”

“[Tomaso] Malvenda, a Spaniſh divine, vvho took the conduct of the debate on the part of the Catholics, managed it vvith all the ſubtle dexterity of a ſcholaſtic metaphyſician, more ſtudious to perplex his adverſaries than to convince them, and more intent on palliating error than on diſcovering truth.”

“The most subtle and powerful intellects have been labouring for centuries to solve these difficulties.”

“Like a peripatetic philosopher, Mr. Verloc, strolling along the streets of London, had modified Stevie's view of the police by conversations full of subtle reasonings.”

“And if King Edward be as true and iuſt, / As I am Subtle, Falſe, and Treacherous, […]”

“As for thee, false friend, subtle fox, unfaithful servant, this long time am I grown weary of thee slinking up and down my palace devising darkly things I know not: thou, that art nought akin to Witchland, but an outlander, a Goblin exile, a serpent warmed in my bosom to my hurt.”

“If thou thinke thy ſelfe well fenſed and ſure, / Againſt euery ſottle ſuggeſtion of vice, / Conſider fraile glaſſe may no diſtres endure, / And great aduentures oft curſe the dire: […]”

“By vnion of the Godhed to the manhod, manne was ioyned to God whiche before by the temptacion of the ſubtle ſerpente, was from hym ſegregate and deuided.”

“Yea, rede Terence and Plaut[us] aduiſedlie ouer, and ye ſhall finde in thoſe two wiſe writers, almoſt in euery commedie, no vnthriftie yong man, that is not brought there vnto, by the ſotle inticement of ſom lewd ſeruant.”

“He that is ſuttleleſt and fulleſt of ſhiftes, is the handſommeſt man: and ſuch kinde of dealing is eſteemed as a vertue.”

“A ſubtle Traitor needs no Sophiſter.”

“Is not thy kindneſſe ſubtle, couetous, / If not a Vſuring kindneſſe, and as rich men deale Guifts, / Expecting in returne tvventy for one?”

“Now the ſerpent was more ſubtill then any beaſt of the field, which the lord God had made, and he ſaid vnto the woman, Yea, hath God ſaid, Ye ſhall not eat of euery tree of the garden?”

“Hovv ſoon hath Time the ſuttle theef of youth, / Stoln on his vving my three and tvventith yeer!”

“[H]e held on / His midnight ſearch, vvhere ſooneſt he might fine / The Serpent: him faſt ſleeping ſoon he found / In Labyrinth of many a round ſelf-rovvld, / His head the midſt, vvell ſtor'd vvith ſuttle vviles: […]”

“VVhy ſhould that / Cauſe thy [Jesus's] refuſal, ſaid the ſubtle Fiend [Satan], / Haſt thou not right to all Created things, / Ovve not all Creatures by juſt right to thee / Duty and Service, nor to ſtay till bid, / But tender all their povver?”

“Geryon, arise! and Gorgon, / Chimæra, and thou Sphinx, subtlest of fiends / Who ministered to Thebes Heaven's poisoned wine, / Unnatural love, and more unnatural hate: / These shall perform your task.”

“[T]hrough their ears, / The subtle witchcraft of his tongue / Unlocked the hearts of those who keep / Gold, the world's bond of slavery.”

“Like to a Bovvle vpon a ſubtle ground / I haue tumbled paſt the throvv: […]”

“[V]pon Tityus his breſt, that (for ſixe of the nine acres) is counted the ſubtleſt bovvling-ground in all Tartary.”

CEFR level