Word.ws English Dictionary

subtlest

subtlest is the superlative form of subtle.

Meaning of subtle

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.

See all 20 meanings of subtle

Questions about subtlest

What is subtlest the superlative form of?
Subtlest is the superlative form of subtle.

Words near subtlest in the dictionary

  1. subtlely
  2. subtleness
  3. subtlenesses
  4. subtler
  5. subtles
  6. subtlest
  7. subtleties
  8. subtlety
  9. subtling
  10. subtlist
  11. subtlists

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: subtlest (page history and authors); subtle (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.

Last updated:

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