See subtlety in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for subtlety meaning in English (19.2kB)
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "sotilte"
},
"expansion": "Middle English sotilte",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "fro",
"3": "sutilté"
},
"expansion": "Old French sutilté",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la",
"3": "subtīlitās"
},
"expansion": "Latin subtīlitās",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "la",
"2": "subtīlis",
"3": "",
"4": "subtle"
},
"expansion": "subtīlis (“subtle”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "subtle",
"3": "ty"
},
"expansion": "subtle + -ty",
"name": "suffix"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "subtility"
},
"expansion": "Doublet of subtility",
"name": "doublet"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From Middle English sotilte, from Old French sutilté, inherited from Latin subtīlitās, from subtīlis (“subtle”). Equivalent to subtle + -ty. Doublet of subtility.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "subtleties",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
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"expansion": "subtlety (countable and uncountable, plural subtleties)",
"name": "en-noun"
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],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"text": "the subtlety of the Mona Lisa’s smile",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1964, Saul Bellow, Herzog, New York: Viking, pages 248–249",
"text": "[…] he had a lifetime of skill in interpreting his father’s gestures: those bent knees meant that something of great subtlety was about to be revealed.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being scarcely noticeable or difficult to discern. (of things)"
],
"id": "en-subtlety-en-noun-CJoyMDu9",
"links": [
[
"subtle",
"subtle"
],
[
"noticeable",
"noticeable"
],
[
"discern",
"discern"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable) The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being scarcely noticeable or difficult to discern. (of things)"
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"text": "the subtlety of a writer’s analysis / of a singer’s phrasing",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being done in a clever way that is not obvious or not direct; the quality of being carefully thought out. (of things)"
],
"id": "en-subtlety-en-noun-SL5A5XWM",
"links": [
[
"subtle",
"subtle"
],
[
"clever",
"clever"
],
[
"obvious",
"obvious"
],
[
"direct",
"direct"
],
[
"carefully",
"carefully"
],
[
"thought out",
"thought out"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable) The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being done in a clever way that is not obvious or not direct; the quality of being carefully thought out. (of things)"
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "refinement"
}
],
"tags": [
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"uncountable"
]
},
{
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{
"_dis": "7 8 22 21 3 4 21 6 2 7",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms suffixed with -ty",
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},
{
"_dis": "5 6 27 21 2 5 22 5 2 6",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Foods",
"orig": "en:Foods",
"parents": [
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"Human behaviour",
"All topics",
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"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "With all his usual subtlety, he quietly fixed the problem before anyone else noticed it."
},
{
"ref": "1979, William Styron, chapter 3, in Sophie’s Choice, New York: Random House, page 74",
"text": "European women often boss their men too, but with a beguiling subtlety unknown to most American females.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being able to achieve one's aims through clever, delicate or indirect methods. (of people)"
],
"id": "en-subtlety-en-noun-vs4Gq2Hd",
"links": [
[
"subtle",
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[
"achieve",
"achieve"
],
[
"clever",
"clever"
],
[
"delicate",
"delicate"
],
[
"indirect",
"indirect"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable) The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being able to achieve one's aims through clever, delicate or indirect methods. (of people)"
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "discretion"
},
{
"word": "finesse"
},
{
"word": "savoir-faire"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
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{
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"Food and drink",
"Human behaviour",
"All topics",
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],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1770, Oliver Goldsmith, The Life of Henry St. John, Lord Viscount Bolingbroke, London: T. Davies, page 7",
"text": "his subtilty in thinking and reasoning were profound,",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being able to notice or understand things that are not obvious. (of people)"
],
"id": "en-subtlety-en-noun-RAhJ7nYC",
"links": [
[
"subtle",
"subtle"
],
[
"notice",
"notice"
],
[
"understand",
"understand"
],
[
"obvious",
"obvious"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable) The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being able to notice or understand things that are not obvious. (of people)"
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "acumen"
},
{
"word": "perceptiveness"
},
{
"word": "perspicacity"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"text": "The subtleties of this overture are often overlooked.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"text": "1561, William Whittingham et al. (translators), Geneva Bible, Wisdom of Solomon 8.8,\n[…] she [Wisdom] knoweth the subtilties of wordes, and the solutions of darke sentences:"
},
{
"ref": "1779, David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Part 10, p. 112",
"text": "It is your turn now […] to support your philosophical subtilties against the dictates of plain reason and experience.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1952, John Steinbeck, East of Eden, London: Heinemann, Part 4, Chapter 36, p. 366",
"text": "His body was as insensitive to pain as was his mind to subtleties.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An instance of being subtle, a subtle thing, especially a subtle argument or distinction."
],
"id": "en-subtlety-en-noun-ze7GtDjo",
"links": [
[
"subtle",
"subtle"
],
[
"argument",
"argument"
],
[
"distinction",
"distinction"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable) An instance of being subtle, a subtle thing, especially a subtle argument or distinction."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "nicety"
},
{
"word": "nuance"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "17 17 17 17 23 1 7 1 1 1",
"code": "ast",
"lang": "Asturian",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"_dis1": "17 17 17 17 23 1 7 1 1 1",
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"_dis1": "17 17 17 17 23 1 7 1 1 1",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "subtelność"
},
{
"_dis1": "17 17 17 17 23 1 7 1 1 1",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"Brazil",
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"_dis1": "17 17 17 17 23 1 7 1 1 1",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"Portugal"
],
"word": "subtileza"
},
{
"_dis1": "17 17 17 17 23 1 7 1 1 1",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"_dis1": "17 17 17 17 23 1 7 1 1 1",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "subtilitet"
},
{
"_dis1": "17 17 17 17 23 1 7 1 1 1",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"word": "finess"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"text": "At the king's coronation feast, several subtleties were served between main courses.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1548, Edward Hall, “The triumphaunt reigne of Kyng Henry the .VIII.”, in The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre [and] Yorke, London: Richard Grafton",
"text": "the seruice […] was sumpteous, with many subtleties, straunge deuises, with seuerall poses, and many deintie dishes.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An ornate medieval illusion dish or table decoration, especially when made from one thing but crafted to look like another."
],
"id": "en-subtlety-en-noun-CFsgrsxC",
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable, historical) An ornate medieval illusion dish or table decoration, especially when made from one thing but crafted to look like another."
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"historical"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
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"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms suffixed with -ty",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "5 6 27 21 2 5 22 5 2 6",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Foods",
"orig": "en:Foods",
"parents": [
"Eating",
"Food and drink",
"Human behaviour",
"All topics",
"Human",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1575, George Gascoigne, “Termes generall of the huntesman, in hunting of any chase”, in The Noble Arte of Venerie of Hunting, London: Christopher Barker, page 243",
"text": "When eyther Hare or Deare, or any other chase vseth subtleties to deceyue the houndes, we saye they crosse or double.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The quality of being clever in surreptitious or deceitful behaviour; an act or argument that shows this quality."
],
"id": "en-subtlety-en-noun-aY3zyd3T",
"links": [
[
"clever",
"clever"
],
[
"surreptitious",
"surreptitious"
],
[
"deceitful",
"deceitful"
],
[
"behaviour",
"behaviour"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable, countable, archaic) The quality of being clever in surreptitious or deceitful behaviour; an act or argument that shows this quality."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "artifice"
},
{
"word": "craftiness"
},
{
"word": "cunning"
},
{
"word": "deceitfulness"
},
{
"word": "slyness"
},
{
"word": "trickery"
}
],
"tags": [
"archaic",
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"glosses": [
"A trick that creates a false appearance."
],
"id": "en-subtlety-en-noun-H2ZJiEyw",
"links": [
[
"trick",
"trick"
],
[
"false",
"false"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable, obsolete) A trick that creates a false appearance."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "deception"
},
{
"word": "illusion"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"obsolete"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "4 4 4 4 2 26 11 45 1 0",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "illusion food",
"word": "entremets"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"text": "1630, Thomas Johnson (translator/editor), A Treatise of the Plague […] Collected out of the workes of […] Ambrose Parey, London, Chapter 11, p. 33,\nTherefore at Paris where naturally, and also through the aboundance of filth that is about the Citie, the Aire is darke and grosse, the pestilent Infection is lesse fierce and contagious then it is in Prouince, for the subtletie of the Aire stimulates or helps forward the Plague."
},
{
"ref": "1692, Robert Boyle, General Heads for the Natural History of a Country Great or Small Drawn Out for the Use of Travellers and Navigators, London: John Tailor and S. Hedford, page 3",
"text": "About the Air is to be considered, its Temperature as to Heat, Dryness and Moisture, and the Measures of them, its Weight, Clearness, Refractive Power, its Subtilty or Grosness […]",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The property of having a low density or thin consistency."
],
"id": "en-subtlety-en-noun-ZwrU2wIE",
"links": [
[
"property",
"property"
],
[
"density",
"density"
],
[
"consistency",
"consistency"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable, obsolete) The property of having a low density or thin consistency."
],
"tags": [
"obsolete",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1760, John Wesley, The Desideratum; or, Electricity Made Plain and Useful, London, pages 37–38",
"text": "Hence we see the amazing Subtlety of this Fire, which pervades Glass as readily as if nothing were in the Way.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The property of being able to penetrate materials easily."
],
"id": "en-subtlety-en-noun-E51v-5Wb",
"links": [
[
"property",
"property"
],
[
"penetrate",
"penetrate"
],
[
"material",
"material"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable, obsolete) The property of being able to penetrate materials easily."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "penetrancy"
},
{
"word": "piercingness"
}
],
"tags": [
"obsolete",
"uncountable"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈsʌt(ə)lti/"
},
{
"audio": "en-us-subtlety.ogg",
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"tags": [
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"text": "Audio (US)"
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{
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"tags": [
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],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"tags": [
"archaic"
],
"word": "subtilty"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "ast",
"lang": "Asturian",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "subtilesa"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "wēimiào",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "微妙"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "hienovaraisuus"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "subtilité"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Geschicklichkeit"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Feinheit"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Feinsinn"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Feinsinnigkeit"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Raffinesse"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Raffiniertheit"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Scharfsinn"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Scharfsinnigkeit"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Subtilität"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Zartheit"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "leptótita",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "λεπτότητα"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sottigliezza"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"alt": "びみょう",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "bimyō",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "微妙"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "la",
"lang": "Latin",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"plural"
],
"word": "argūtiae"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "la",
"lang": "Latin",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "subtīlitās"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "subtelność"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "delikatność"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"Brazil",
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"Portugal"
],
"word": "subtileza"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "tónkostʹ",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "то́нкость"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "delicadeza"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "subtilitet"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "incelik"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "kurnazlık"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "zekilik"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "ustalık"
},
{
"_dis1": "20 20 20 20 4 0 15 0 0 0",
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "anlaşılmazlık"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"subtlety"
],
"word": "subtlety"
}
{
"categories": [
"English 3-syllable words",
"English countable nouns",
"English doublets",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms derived from Latin",
"English terms derived from Middle English",
"English terms derived from Old French",
"English terms inherited from Middle English",
"English terms suffixed with -ty",
"English terms with IPA pronunciation",
"English terms with audio links",
"English uncountable nouns",
"en:Foods"
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "sotilte"
},
"expansion": "Middle English sotilte",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "fro",
"3": "sutilté"
},
"expansion": "Old French sutilté",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la",
"3": "subtīlitās"
},
"expansion": "Latin subtīlitās",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "la",
"2": "subtīlis",
"3": "",
"4": "subtle"
},
"expansion": "subtīlis (“subtle”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "subtle",
"3": "ty"
},
"expansion": "subtle + -ty",
"name": "suffix"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "subtility"
},
"expansion": "Doublet of subtility",
"name": "doublet"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From Middle English sotilte, from Old French sutilté, inherited from Latin subtīlitās, from subtīlis (“subtle”). Equivalent to subtle + -ty. Doublet of subtility.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "subtleties",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "~"
},
"expansion": "subtlety (countable and uncountable, plural subtleties)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples",
"English uncountable nouns",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "the subtlety of the Mona Lisa’s smile",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1964, Saul Bellow, Herzog, New York: Viking, pages 248–249",
"text": "[…] he had a lifetime of skill in interpreting his father’s gestures: those bent knees meant that something of great subtlety was about to be revealed.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being scarcely noticeable or difficult to discern. (of things)"
],
"links": [
[
"subtle",
"subtle"
],
[
"noticeable",
"noticeable"
],
[
"discern",
"discern"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable) The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being scarcely noticeable or difficult to discern. (of things)"
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with usage examples",
"English uncountable nouns"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "the subtlety of a writer’s analysis / of a singer’s phrasing",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being done in a clever way that is not obvious or not direct; the quality of being carefully thought out. (of things)"
],
"links": [
[
"subtle",
"subtle"
],
[
"clever",
"clever"
],
[
"obvious",
"obvious"
],
[
"direct",
"direct"
],
[
"carefully",
"carefully"
],
[
"thought out",
"thought out"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable) The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being done in a clever way that is not obvious or not direct; the quality of being carefully thought out. (of things)"
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "refinement"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"English uncountable nouns",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "With all his usual subtlety, he quietly fixed the problem before anyone else noticed it."
},
{
"ref": "1979, William Styron, chapter 3, in Sophie’s Choice, New York: Random House, page 74",
"text": "European women often boss their men too, but with a beguiling subtlety unknown to most American females.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being able to achieve one's aims through clever, delicate or indirect methods. (of people)"
],
"links": [
[
"subtle",
"subtle"
],
[
"achieve",
"achieve"
],
[
"clever",
"clever"
],
[
"delicate",
"delicate"
],
[
"indirect",
"indirect"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable) The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being able to achieve one's aims through clever, delicate or indirect methods. (of people)"
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "discretion"
},
{
"word": "finesse"
},
{
"word": "savoir-faire"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"English uncountable nouns"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1770, Oliver Goldsmith, The Life of Henry St. John, Lord Viscount Bolingbroke, London: T. Davies, page 7",
"text": "his subtilty in thinking and reasoning were profound,",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being able to notice or understand things that are not obvious. (of people)"
],
"links": [
[
"subtle",
"subtle"
],
[
"notice",
"notice"
],
[
"understand",
"understand"
],
[
"obvious",
"obvious"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable) The quality of being subtle.",
"The quality of being able to notice or understand things that are not obvious. (of people)"
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "acumen"
},
{
"word": "perceptiveness"
},
{
"word": "perspicacity"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "The subtleties of this overture are often overlooked.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"text": "1561, William Whittingham et al. (translators), Geneva Bible, Wisdom of Solomon 8.8,\n[…] she [Wisdom] knoweth the subtilties of wordes, and the solutions of darke sentences:"
},
{
"ref": "1779, David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Part 10, p. 112",
"text": "It is your turn now […] to support your philosophical subtilties against the dictates of plain reason and experience.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1952, John Steinbeck, East of Eden, London: Heinemann, Part 4, Chapter 36, p. 366",
"text": "His body was as insensitive to pain as was his mind to subtleties.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An instance of being subtle, a subtle thing, especially a subtle argument or distinction."
],
"links": [
[
"subtle",
"subtle"
],
[
"argument",
"argument"
],
[
"distinction",
"distinction"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable) An instance of being subtle, a subtle thing, especially a subtle argument or distinction."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "nicety"
},
{
"word": "nuance"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English terms with historical senses",
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "At the king's coronation feast, several subtleties were served between main courses.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1548, Edward Hall, “The triumphaunt reigne of Kyng Henry the .VIII.”, in The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre [and] Yorke, London: Richard Grafton",
"text": "the seruice […] was sumpteous, with many subtleties, straunge deuises, with seuerall poses, and many deintie dishes.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An ornate medieval illusion dish or table decoration, especially when made from one thing but crafted to look like another."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable, historical) An ornate medieval illusion dish or table decoration, especially when made from one thing but crafted to look like another."
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"historical"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English terms with archaic senses",
"English terms with quotations",
"English uncountable nouns"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1575, George Gascoigne, “Termes generall of the huntesman, in hunting of any chase”, in The Noble Arte of Venerie of Hunting, London: Christopher Barker, page 243",
"text": "When eyther Hare or Deare, or any other chase vseth subtleties to deceyue the houndes, we saye they crosse or double.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The quality of being clever in surreptitious or deceitful behaviour; an act or argument that shows this quality."
],
"links": [
[
"clever",
"clever"
],
[
"surreptitious",
"surreptitious"
],
[
"deceitful",
"deceitful"
],
[
"behaviour",
"behaviour"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable, countable, archaic) The quality of being clever in surreptitious or deceitful behaviour; an act or argument that shows this quality."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "artifice"
},
{
"word": "craftiness"
},
{
"word": "cunning"
},
{
"word": "deceitfulness"
},
{
"word": "slyness"
},
{
"word": "trickery"
}
],
"tags": [
"archaic",
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English terms with obsolete senses"
],
"glosses": [
"A trick that creates a false appearance."
],
"links": [
[
"trick",
"trick"
],
[
"false",
"false"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(countable, obsolete) A trick that creates a false appearance."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "deception"
},
{
"word": "illusion"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"obsolete"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with obsolete senses",
"English terms with quotations",
"English uncountable nouns"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "1630, Thomas Johnson (translator/editor), A Treatise of the Plague […] Collected out of the workes of […] Ambrose Parey, London, Chapter 11, p. 33,\nTherefore at Paris where naturally, and also through the aboundance of filth that is about the Citie, the Aire is darke and grosse, the pestilent Infection is lesse fierce and contagious then it is in Prouince, for the subtletie of the Aire stimulates or helps forward the Plague."
},
{
"ref": "1692, Robert Boyle, General Heads for the Natural History of a Country Great or Small Drawn Out for the Use of Travellers and Navigators, London: John Tailor and S. Hedford, page 3",
"text": "About the Air is to be considered, its Temperature as to Heat, Dryness and Moisture, and the Measures of them, its Weight, Clearness, Refractive Power, its Subtilty or Grosness […]",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The property of having a low density or thin consistency."
],
"links": [
[
"property",
"property"
],
[
"density",
"density"
],
[
"consistency",
"consistency"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable, obsolete) The property of having a low density or thin consistency."
],
"tags": [
"obsolete",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with obsolete senses",
"English terms with quotations",
"English uncountable nouns",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1760, John Wesley, The Desideratum; or, Electricity Made Plain and Useful, London, pages 37–38",
"text": "Hence we see the amazing Subtlety of this Fire, which pervades Glass as readily as if nothing were in the Way.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The property of being able to penetrate materials easily."
],
"links": [
[
"property",
"property"
],
[
"penetrate",
"penetrate"
],
[
"material",
"material"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable, obsolete) The property of being able to penetrate materials easily."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "penetrancy"
},
{
"word": "piercingness"
}
],
"tags": [
"obsolete",
"uncountable"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈsʌt(ə)lti/"
},
{
"audio": "en-us-subtlety.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/57/En-us-subtlety.ogg/En-us-subtlety.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/En-us-subtlety.ogg",
"tags": [
"US"
],
"text": "Audio (US)"
},
{
"audio": "en-au-subtlety.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3e/En-au-subtlety.ogg/En-au-subtlety.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/En-au-subtlety.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"tags": [
"archaic"
],
"word": "subtilty"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ast",
"lang": "Asturian",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "subtilesa"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "wēimiào",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "微妙"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "hienovaraisuus"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "subtilité"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Geschicklichkeit"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Feinheit"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Feinsinn"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Feinsinnigkeit"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Raffinesse"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Raffiniertheit"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Scharfsinn"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Scharfsinnigkeit"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Subtilität"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Zartheit"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "leptótita",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "λεπτότητα"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sottigliezza"
},
{
"alt": "びみょう",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "bimyō",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "微妙"
},
{
"code": "la",
"lang": "Latin",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"plural"
],
"word": "argūtiae"
},
{
"code": "la",
"lang": "Latin",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "subtīlitās"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "subtelność"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "delikatność"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"Brazil",
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"Portugal"
],
"word": "subtileza"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "tónkostʹ",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "то́нкость"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "delicadeza"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "subtilitet"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "incelik"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "kurnazlık"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "zekilik"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "ustalık"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "quality or act of being subtle",
"word": "anlaşılmazlık"
},
{
"code": "ast",
"lang": "Asturian",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "subtelność"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"Brazil",
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"Portugal"
],
"word": "subtileza"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sutileza"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "subtilitet"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "an instance of being subtle",
"word": "finess"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "illusion food",
"word": "entremets"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"subtlety"
],
"word": "subtlety"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-17 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-01 using wiktextract (0b52755 and 5cb0836). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.