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delicate English

Meaning delicate meaning

What does delicate mean?
Definitions in simple English

delicate

A delicate thing is something that can break easily. It is usually beautiful but people need to be careful if they touch it. Flower petals are delicate. I don't want a child to hold my delicate glasses. The things in this box are delicate. Please don't drop them.

delicate

exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury a delicate violin passage delicate china a delicate flavor the delicate wing of a butterfly marked by great skill especially in meticulous technique a surgeon's delicate touch (= fragile, frail) easily broken or damaged or destroyed a kite too delicate to fly safely fragile porcelain plates fragile old bones a frail craft (= soft) easily hurt soft hands a baby's delicate skin (= ticklish, touchy) difficult to handle; requiring great tact delicate negotiations with the big powers hesitates to be explicit on so ticklish a matter a touchy subject (= finespun) developed with extreme delicacy and subtlety the satire touches with finespun ridicule every kind of human pretense of an instrument or device; capable of registering minute differences or changes precisely almost undetectable with even the most delicate instruments

Synonyms delicate synonyms

What other words have the same or similar meaning as delicate?

Topics delicate topics

What do people use delicate to talk about?

Examples delicate examples

How do I use delicate in a sentence?

Simple sentences

The president declined to answer the delicate question.
Those who are delicate in health are apt to catch a cold when the cold season sets in.
It's a very delicate question.
It's a delicate problem.
That's a delicate point.
Oil on canvas can never paint a petal so delicate.
I find myself in a rather delicate situation.
A baby has delicate skin.
Japanese women tend to look tiny and delicate.
He's been delicate since he was a boy.
He was delicate as a child.
He is delicate.
The machine is so delicate that it easily breaks.
That was a very delicate situation.
It's a very delicate matter.
Keeping Mario in a state in which he can throw fireballs is a delicate process; that newfound power sometimes makes one cocky and careless.
Speaking of religious matters is a delicate issue.
Happiness is a delicate flower.
That girl has very delicate features.
She has delicate skin.

Movie subtitles

It's all referenced in delicate terms.
And this is a delicate subject, and I want to make sure that if we draw a conclusion, it's the appropriate one.
I suppose your delicate nerves can't stand it.
Delicate matters.
Well, this is a rather delicate matter, and I. I don't want to, uh.
You know, my skin's terribly delicate, and I don't dare expose it.
Delicate work.
Her condition is not sufficiently serious to be cause for alarm but it is decidedly delicate.
Yes, I'm very delicate in that respect.
Well, Noah. that boat manipulating's a little too tough for my delicate constitution. so if you don't mind, sir, I shall go below.
They can smash delicate apparatus. They can do endless mischief.
I don't suppose you can understand how any woman unprotected, as you say I am, can be lifted above self-interest by a sentiment so delicate and pure that she feels only humiliation when you speak of such things.
It's delicate work, not like hitting the Swedes.
I'm here on a delicate matter.
Well, this is a rather delicate matter, and I.
Master Copperfield, your conduct has always been of most delicate And obliging description. You have never been a lodger.
Hardly an ingratiating way for a home-government man to present himself on a delicate mission to the Surat Khan.
Then you must know the situation has been a devilish delicate one.
I'm not accustomed to handling anything so delicate, so valuable.
Madam, I'm here because of a somewhat delicate matter.
I love the delicate way you talk to your employees and still indicate that you're not quite pleased with them.
Mr. Lantier, I'd like to bring up a delicate matter.
Woman, sir, is a chalice a frail, delicate chalice, to be cherished and protected.
As a matter of fact, you're just in time to help me decide a matter that is certainly delicate - and possibly of the greatest importance.
He's very delicate.
You're too delicate, too sensitive.
It's a delicate balance between the supernatural part of her life and the normal part of being a teenage girl.
It's a delicate issue Madam.
Only, she says he has a delicate nature.
Even those delicate veins and the texture of that flesh.
But it was a delicate situation.
I'm very delicate in that respect.
Under the most favorable conditions. it's a delicate operation, far beyond me.
It's delicate.
It was delicate, in front of everyone.
We see first a group of dancers in costumes to suggest the delicate light of dawn.

News and current affairs

Immigration has always been an immensely complex and delicate issue inside the US, and now for Latin America as well.
It is true that democracies always find it difficult to balance their commitment to human rights with their commitment to free speech: it is a delicate path to tread, and there is no easy answer on a legal and constitutional level.
China finds itself in a delicate position, pulled in one direction by its desire to avoid a precipitous North Korean collapse, and in the opposite direction by its overriding need to deepen economic relations with the US, Japan, and South Korea.
They want to keep bathing in press coverage, but if they push their China-bashing too far and too fast, the protectionists will be seen as hindering delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations.
China's adventurism and its blithe assumption that it can deal with any international dictator it wishes and disturb the delicate military balance in outer space is emblematic of something sinister and dangerous.
They could have easily let the OAS assembly go by, giving the new American president more time to prepare his Congress and public opinion for a delicate balancing act.
The rule of secular law is the most delicate prerequisite of a liberal order.
This will involve difficult choices, delicate execution, and uncertain outcomes for both the federal government and the US Federal Reserve.
When America's misguided war in Iraq deposed Saddam Hussein in 2003, it upset a delicate balance.
The EU faces a delicate balancing act between the need to foster investment and the need to remain cautious, especially with public money.
Legitimacy is a delicate, yet utterly important feature of stable democratic politics.
It is a telling commentary on the moral bankruptcy of the UN that this decision comes at so delicate a time for the organization.
But, for Western powers, particularly the US, preserving these delicate arrangements has taken a backseat to strategic interests, particularly access to the region's oil.
Democracy here is a reality, but a delicate one.
Reining in price and asset inflation without undermining growth will be a delicate balancing act.
It would take a good deal more than a hiccup in the EU's delicate political process to bring integration to a standstill, let alone put it into reverse.
Sharply raising the government's already outsized profile in the economy will upset this delicate balance leading to slower growth in the future.
Government stability will remain a delicate balancing act.
But relations between Israel's Jewish majority and Arab minority is an internal, delicate question in which it is not wise to involve Palestinians outside of Israel.
The military's high and positive profile seems to suggest that it is the only institution left in a tottering state that seems able to stabilize a delicate situation.
Cameron has succeeded in this delicate balancing act - and has been rewarded by voters.

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