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subtle English

Meaning subtle meaning

What does subtle mean?
Definitions in simple English

subtle

Subtle means small, slight, not easily noticed, understated. The smile on the Mona Lisa is a subtle smile.

subtle

(= elusive) difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze his whole attitude had undergone a subtle change a subtle difference that elusive thing the soul able to make fine distinctions a subtle mind (= insidious) working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way glaucoma is an insidious disease a subtle poison

Synonyms subtle synonyms

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

Examples subtle examples

How do I use subtle in a sentence?

Simple sentences

There are subtle differences between the two things.
There's a subtle difference in meaning between the two words.
This word has a subtle nuance to it.
Subtle differences in tone discriminate the original from the copy.
She's been dropping some not-so-subtle hints about what she would like for Christmas.
Tom kept dropping subtle hints about what he wanted for his birthday.
Mary's subtle brand of humour was lost on Tom.
There is a subtle difference between the two words.
Her exotic perfume has a subtle scent.
Mary was a woman of subtle beauty.
There were subtle differences.
What a subtle hint!

Movie subtitles

Just the right amount of curl and a subtle balayage.
It's subtle, but I get it. It's all right.
So subtle.
I hope, in my subtle way, I've made myself clear.
Yeah. That, I take it, is what is known as being subtle.
It is, uh, full mature, the smooth blended tones, very subtle and his brushwork is left-handed.
Notice the subtle modeling of the features, beautiful hands, mood, that smile.
But do you mind if, for the moment, I'm not the least subtle?
You're not very subtle, but you are effective.
All the psychologists have tried for years to find. that subtle difference between mind and soul.
And I think men's minds are going to be changed in subtle ways because of automobiles.
He diverted himself by exercising a subtle influence on the lives of others.
I'm not too well-trained in the more subtle snobberies of your class.
I came in a subtle, aging widower.
It's a little subtle, but I get it.
You're so subtle.
Why can't you be subtle, like Bill?
Did he tell you of my difficulties caused by a secret, subtle influence?
That, I take it, is what is known as being subtle.
Something more subtle, or something in the woodsy order? This, for instance.
You're not very subtle, but you are effective. I get the point.
All the psychologists have tried for years to find that subtle difference between mind and soul.
Mr. Holmes is the most subtle and extraordinary Private Investigator of our time.
Because the method, whatever it is, is peculiarly subtle and cruel. Feline, not canine.
Your grace, your charm, your quick tongue and subtle wit?
Now they are using subtle psychological warfare on us.
I know you hate the obvious. But do you mind if, for the moment, I'm not the least subtle?
The same subtle cruelty just beneath the surface.
Yes. I came in a subtle, aging widower.
To get there, I needed to be more subtle in my technique.
Would you have imagined, my good Lord Mayor. were't not, by great preservation. we live to tell it you. the subtle traitor this day had plotted in the council house. to murder me and my good lord of Gloucester?
You can't expect Mr. Blanchard to put the welcome mat out for you when you go prowling around his house in the middle of the night, asking questions that are about as subtle as a sledge hammer.
Oh, you think he should be more subtle?
He's a far-sighted man, a subtle type.
I wonder what subtle form of manslaughter is next on the program.

News and current affairs

But I still have faith that subtle changes are occurring.
The truth is much more subtle than naked political interest.
But such scorn is misplaced, because popular entertainment often contains subtle images and messages about individualism, consumer choice, and other values that have important political effects.
Until then, interference from China was covert and subtle, so that the public perception was that Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa, was in charge.
To countries on the receiving end, these conditions can seem like a subtle form of power politics, with Europe trying to impose its values on the world.
Almost from her first appearance in the public eye, Michelle Obama has used clothing, etiquette, and such cues as where she shops and entertains to send out a subtle but radical message to American voters and to the world.
Our creditors' insistence on greater austerity is subtle yet steadfast.
And yet these subtle switches at the top of the table are not the real story.
The risks consist not so much in outright fraud - big lies that would be jailable offenses - as in more subtle forms of deception.
But it also often compels them to keep the frontiers of subtle deception in view.
Anti-Semitism nowadays is more subtle than spray-painting swastikas and other acts of vandalism.
Then a subtle change occurred.
The war in Lebanon, so frustrating for Israel, accelerated that subtle change.
So, by creating incompatibilities, some subtle and some obvious, that make its old software obsolete, Microsoft can sell its operating systems at high profit margins without fear that people will wait until the price drops.
International relations in northeast Asia will become more subtle and unstable as the Kim Jong-il era ends.
Only the German government and the ECB can open the door to this subtle but profound reform of the euro's fundamental underpinnings.
A subtle US policy shift that encourages Tokyo to cut its overdependence on America and do more for its own defense can more effectively contribute to that equilibrium.
Indeed, working daily with Chinese TV creators, I noticed a subtle, almost instinctive tendency to avoid any content or format that is unusual, novel, or unorthodox, never mind subversive.
But all this means is that the facades will have to be more subtle and the fictions more elaborate.
For all their subliminal paid promotions and subtle product placements, corporations are getting drubbed in the main story lines of our popular culture.
The reasons are subtle.
Researchers have recently discovered subtle structural variations occurring in orthologs from species that diverged from each other billions of years ago.
Integration has other, more subtle, institutional requirements as well.
As long as there is a Church of England, if you are Jewish or Muslim or Sikh, there is a subtle level at which you will simply not feel fully English.
Recent subtle changes in Sino-Indian relations could prove to be enormously consequential for the world in the coming decades.
In the arcane world of international financial diplomacy, these subtle shifts in terminology matter.

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