Subtlety — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude

the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/sˈʌɾəlɾi/

🇬🇧British English

/sˈʌtəlti/

🇮🇳Indian English

/sˈʌtəlti/

3 syllables Say it as /sˈʌɾəlɾi/.

Examples

without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor
don't argue about shades of meaning
you had to admire the subtlety of the distinctions he drew

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

niceness nicety nuance shade refinement

Parts of Speech

noun	a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude “without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor”
noun	the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze “you had to admire the subtlety of the distinctions he drew”

Word Forms

refine

verb

make more precise or increase the discriminatory powers of

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Subtilität

ein subtiler Unterschied in der Bedeutung, Meinung oder Einstellung

🇫🇷French

subtilité

une différence subtile de sens, d'opinion ou d'attitude

🇪🇸Spanish

sutileza

una sutil diferencia en significado, opinión o actitud

🇮🇹Italian

sottigliezza

una sottile differenza di significato, opinione o atteggiamento

🇳🇱Dutch

subtiliteit

een subtiel verschil in betekenis, mening of houding

🇵🇹Portuguese

sutileza

uma diferença sutil de significado, opinião ou atitude

🇷🇺Russian

тонкость

тонкая разница в значении, мнении или отношении

India

🇮🇳Hindi

सूक्ष्मता

अर्थ या राय या दृष्टिकोण में सूक्ष्म अंतर

🇧🇩Bengali

সূক্ষ্মতা

অর্থ বা মতামত বা মনোভাবের একটি সূক্ষ্ম পার্থক্য

🇮🇳Tamil

நுணுக்கம்

பொருள் அல்லது கருத்து அல்லது அணுகுமுறையில் ஒரு நுட்பமான வேறுபாடு

🇮🇳Telugu

సూక్ష్మబుద్ధి

అర్థం లేదా అభిప్రాయం లేదా వైఖరిలో సూక్ష్మ వ్యత్యాసం

🇮🇳Marathi

सूक्ष्मता

अर्थ किंवा मत किंवा वृत्तीमध्ये सूक्ष्म फरक

🇮🇳Gujarati

સૂક્ષ્મતા

અર્થ અથવા અભિપ્રાય અથવા વલણમાં સૂક્ષ્મ તફાવત

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮತೆ

ಅರ್ಥ ಅಥವಾ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಅಥವಾ ವರ್ತನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സൂക്ഷ്മത

അർത്ഥത്തിലോ അഭിപ്രായത്തിലോ മനോഭാവത്തിലോ ഉള്ള സൂക്ഷ്മമായ വ്യത്യാസം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਸੂਖਮਤਾ

ਅਰਥ ਜਾਂ ਰਾਏ ਜਾਂ ਰਵੱਈਏ ਵਿੱਚ ਇੱਕ ਸੂਖਮ ਅੰਤਰ

🇵🇰Urdu

باریکتا

معنی یا رائے یا رویہ میں ایک لطیف فرق

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

微妙

意义、观点或态度上的细微差别

🇯🇵Japanese

繊細さ

意味、意見、態度の微妙な違い

🇰🇷Korean

미묘

의미나 의견, 태도의 미묘한 차이

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sự tinh tế

một sự khác biệt tinh tế trong ý nghĩa hoặc quan điểm hoặc thái độ

🇹🇭Thai

ความละเอียดอ่อน

ความแตกต่างเล็กน้อยในความหมายหรือความคิดเห็นหรือทัศนคติ

🇮🇩Indonesian

kehalusan

perbedaan halus dalam arti atau pendapat atau sikap

🇵🇭Filipino

kapitaganan

isang banayad na pagkakaiba sa kahulugan o opinyon o saloobin

🇲🇾Malay

kehalusan

perbezaan yang halus dalam maksud atau pendapat atau sikap

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

دقة

اختلاف دقيق في المعنى أو الرأي أو الموقف

🇮🇷Persian

ظرافت

تفاوت ظریف در معنا یا نظر یا نگرش

🇹🇷Turkish

incelik

anlam, görüş veya tutumda ince bir fark

🇮🇱Hebrew

עֲדִינוּת

הבדל דק במשמעות או בדעה או בגישה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'subtlety'?

The primary meaning of 'subtlety' is 'a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'subtlety' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'subtlety' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'subtlety' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'subtlety' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'subtlety' in your daily reading?

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Occasionally

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Do you find 'subtlety' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

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In your opinion, does the word 'subtlety' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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Neutral

Gloomy

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Which age group is most likely to use 'subtlety' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'subtlety' in a professional email?

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Would you classify 'subtlety' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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