Word.ws English Dictionary

subtle

Syllables: sub·tleUK/ˈsʌtl̩//ˈsʌtəl/

subtle adjective: of an action or movement: very delicate or slight, and thus barely noticeable; not obvious; inconspicuous, unintrusive.

Adjective

subtle (comparative subtler or more subtle, superlative subtlest or most subtle)

  1. Of an action or movement: very delicate or slight, and thus barely noticeable; not obvious; inconspicuous, unintrusive.
    • 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.1712, Richard Blackmore, Creation: A Philosophical Poem. Demonstrating the Existence and Providence of a God. In Seven Books, book I, London: Printed for S. Buckley, at the Dolphin in Little-Britain...
  2. (archaic) Having a delicate or fine substance or texture; hence, exquisite, refined.
  3. (archaic) Slender, thin.
  4. (archaic) Of a substance: finely powdered; also, of particles of a substance: very fine or small.
  5. (archaic) Of weight: after the tare (“weight of an empty container”) has been subtracted; net.
    Antonyms:
    gross
  6. (historical) 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.
  7. (obsolete, rare except historical) Synonym of subtile (“of a ship: narrow, slender”).
    Synonyms:
    subtile
  8. 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.
  9. Giving only a slight impression; elusive, indistinct; also, skilfully restrained or understated.
    • 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.2013 August 12, Stephen Bowie, “The Case against Breaking Bad”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 15 Nov 2019
  10. Of an artist, a musician, etc.: having a light touch; sensitive.
  11. Of a person: sensitive to the feelings of others; discreet, tactful.
  12. Of a person, their intellect or mind, etc.: discerning, perceptive, shrewd, wise.
    • [T]his heauenly foode is giuen for the ſatisfying of our emptie ſoules, and not for the exerciſing of our curious and ſubtle vvits.1597, Richard Hooker, “Of the Sacrament of the Body & Bloud of Christ”, in J[ohn] S[penser], editor, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], 2nd edition, London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for...
    • 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...1644, John Milton, Areopagitica; a Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 30
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  1. Acting (especially causing harm) in a stealthy, often gradual, manner; insidious.
    • And if King Edward be as true and iuſt, / As I am Subtle, Falſe, and Treacherous, […]c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
    • 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.1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, “The Wrastling for Demonland”, in The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 24
  2. (archaic) Of a person or their fingers or hands, their ability, etc.: dexterous, skilful.
  3. (archaic) Of a person or animal, or of an action or words: clever or skilful in a crafty or devious way; cunning, sly, wily.
    • 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: […]a. 1536 (date written), Thomas More, “The Life of John Picus Erle of Myrandula, […]. Twelue Rules of John Picus Earle of Mirandula, Partely Exciting, Partely Directing a Man in Spiritual Bataile....
    • 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.a. 1548 (date written), Edward Hall, Richard Grafton, “[The Vnquiet Tyme of Kyng Henry the Fourthe.] An Introduccion into the History of Kyng Henry the Fourthe.”, in The Vnion of the Two Noble and...
  4. (obsolete) Of ground used for bowling: not smooth; uneven.
    • Like to a Bovvle vpon a ſubtle ground / I haue tumbled paſt the throvv: […]c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • [V]pon Tityus his breſt, that (for ſixe of the nine acres) is counted the ſubtleſt bovvling-ground in all Tartary.1631, [Ben Jonson], Chloridia. Rites to Chloris and Her Nymphs. […], London: […] Thomas Walkley, →OCLC, signature B, recto
  5. (obsolete) Of an object: cleverly contrived or made; also, of a plan, etc.: cleverly contrived or carried out.

Noun

the subtle (uncountable)

  1. People or things that are subtle (adjective sense) as a class.

Verb

subtle (third-person singular simple present subtles, present participle subtling, simple past and past participle subtled)

  1. (US, transitive) To make (something) subtle (“giving only a slight impression; also, skilfully restrained or understated”).
  2. (obsolete, rare, transitive, uncertain) To burn (someone or something) to ash.
    • A fire ſubtle ye, are ye ſo crafty.1624 (first performance), John Fletcher, Rule a Wife and Have a Wife. A Comoedy. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Leonard Lichfield […], published 1640, →OCLC, Act IV, scene i, page 43

subtle meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

subtle in Hindi

subtle, obscured, abstruse
बारीक bārīk

subtle in Tamil

நுட்பமான, நுண்ணயம் வாய்ந்த, நுண்ணியம் வாய்ந்த, நுண்மான் நுழைபுலம் சார்ந்த, நேர்த்தியான

subtle in Urdu

باریک, دقیق, لطیف, ظریف

subtle in Bengali

সূক্ষ্ম, নিগূঢ়, চতুর, কৃশ, ধূর্ত, অস্পষ্ট
More languagesFewer languages
subtle in Malayalam
ദുർഗ്രഹമായ, സൂക്ഷ്മമായ
subtle in Kannada
ನುಣುಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ, ಗೂಢ, ನಾಜೂಕಾದ, ನವಿರಾದ
subtle in Punjabi
ਸੂਖਮ sūkham, ਬਰੀਕ barīk
subtle in Sanskrit
सूक्ष्म sūkṣma

Examples of subtle in a sentence

  • VVhen ſubtle VVits have ſpun their thred too fine, / Tis vveak and fragile like Arachnes line: […]1668, John Denham, “The Progress of Learning”, in Poems and Translations, with The Sophy, London: […] [John Macock] for H[enry] Herringman...
  • The most subtle and powerful intellects have been labouring for centuries to solve these difficulties.1830 July, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “[Contributions to the Edinburgh Review.] Sadler’s Law of Population.”, in T[homas] F[lower]...
  • Verloc, strolling along the streets of London, had modified Stevie's view of the police by conversations full of subtle reasonings.1906 January–October, Joseph Conrad, chapter XI, in The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale (Collection of British Authors; 3995), copyright...
  • Is not thy kindneſſe ſubtle, couetous, / If not a Vſuring kindneſſe, and as rich men deale Guifts, / Expecting in returne tvventy for one?c. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, &...

All 40 example sentences with subtle

Synonyms of subtle

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

10 more antonymsFewer antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of subtle

Forms of subtle

Adjective
comparativesubtler
comparativemore subtle
superlativesubtlest
superlativemost subtle
alternative formsubtil
alternative formsubtile
alternative formsubtill
alternative formsuttle
Verb
third-person singular presentsubtles
present participlesubtling
past participlesubtled
pastsubtled

Origin of subtle

The adjective is derived from Middle English sotil, soubtil, subtil (“of a person, the mind, etc.: clever, ingenious, penetrating; cunning, sly; insidious; delicate, fine; not dense, light, thin; finely powdered; narrow, slender; etc.”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman sotel, subtil, sutil, Middle French soutil, subtil, sutil, and Old French sotil, soutil, subtil, sutil (“of an object: skilfully designed or made; delicate, fine; slender, thin; of an intangible thing: difficult to understand; of a person: discerning, shrewd; devious, sly; etc.”) (modern French subtil), from Latin subtīlis (“of texture: delicate, fine; slender, thin; accurate, keen; having fine judgment; etc.”), from sub (“below, under”) + tēla (“warp (threads running lengthwise in a loom); web”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tetḱ- (“to create, produce; to cut, hew”), from *teḱ- (“to beget, sire”)). The word displaced Old English smēag (literally “creeping”). The modern and Middle English (and French) spellings with -b- are influenced by Latin subtīlis; the letter was probably never pronounced. The noun is derived from Middle English sotil, soubtil, subtil (“wise person; sophisticated people collectively”), from...

Partly from both of the following: * From Middle English sotilen, subtile, subtilien (“to reflect on (something); to become mentally keen; to connive, scheme; to contrive, invent; to become pure or thin; to (cause something to) become light or thin; (medicine) to lighten or reduce (a diet)”), from Anglo-Norman sotiller, soutiller, sutiller, Middle French soutiller, soutillier, and Old French soutillier (“to make thin; to sharpen; to split hairs when arguing; to scheme, plot”), from Old French sotil, soutil, subtil, sutil (noun) (see etymology 1) + -ier (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs), partly influenced by Late Latin subtīliāre, the present active infinitive of subtīliō (“to act craftily; to diminish”), from Latin subtīlis (adjective) (see etymology 1) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). * From subtle (adjective).

Words formed from subtle

Phrases with subtle

Words that rhyme with subtle

Questions about subtle

What does subtle mean?
Subtle means of an action or movement: very delicate or slight, and thus barely noticeable; not obvious; inconspicuous, unintrusive.
What is subtle in Hindi?
Subtle in Hindi is बारीक (bārīk). See Subtle meaning in Hindi.
How do you use subtle in a sentence?
VVhen ſubtle VVits have ſpun their thred too fine, / Tis vveak and fragile like Arachnes line: […]
What part of speech is subtle?
Subtle can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce subtle?
Subtle is pronounced /ˈsʌtl̩/ (UK).

Words near subtle in the dictionary

  1. subtitling
  2. subtitlings
  3. subtitlist
  4. subtitlists
  5. subtitular
  6. subtle
  7. subtle bodies
  8. subtle body
  9. subtled
  10. subtlely
  11. subtleness

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: subtle (page history and authors); बारीक (Hindi) (page history and authors); subtle (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); subtle (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); subtle (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); subtle (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); subtle (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਬਰੀਕ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); सूक्ष्म (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-subtle.ogg.

Cite this entry: “subtle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/subtle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.