SUBTLY

subtly

(adverb) in a subtle manner; “late nineteenth-century French opera at its most beautiful, subtly romantic with a twilight melancholy”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adverb

subtly (comparative more subtly, superlative most subtly)

With subtleness, in a subtle manner; with cleverness rather than brute force.

Anagrams

• bustly, butyls

Source: Wiktionary


Sub"tly, adv.

Definition: In a subtle manner; slyly; artfully; cunningly. Thou seest how subtly to detain thee I devise. Milton.

2. Nicely; delicately. In the nice bee what sense so subtly true. Pope. Subtly communicating itself to my sensibilities, but evading the analysis of my mind. Hawthorne.

3. Deceitfully; delusively. [Obs.] Shak.

SUBTLE

Sub"tle, a. [Compar. Subtler; superl. Subtlest.] Etym: [OE. sotil, subtil, OF. soutil, later subtil, F. subtil, L. subtilis; probably, originally, woven fine, and fr. sub under + tela a web, fr. texere to weave. See Text, and cf. Subtile.]

1. Sly in design; artful; cunning; insinuating; subtile; -- applied to persons; as, a subtle foe. "A subtle traitor." Shak.

2. Cunningly devised; crafty; treacherous; as, a subtle stratagem.

3. Characterized by refinement and niceness in drawing distinctions; nicely discriminating; -- said of persons; as, a subtle logician; refined; tenuous; sinuous; insinuating; hence, penetrative or pervasive; -- said of the mind; its faculties, or its operations; as, a subtle intellect; a subtle imagination; a subtle process of thought; also, difficult of apprehension; elusive. Things remote from use, obscure and subtle. Milton.

4. Smooth and deceptive. [Obs.] Like to a bowl upon a subtle ground [bowling ground]. Shak.

Syn.

– Artful; crafty; cunning; shrewd; sly; wily. Subtle is the most comprehensive of these epithets and implies the finest intellectual quality. See Shrewd, and Cunning.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

5 November 2024

TEMPORIZE

(verb) draw out a discussion or process in order to gain time; “The speaker temporized in order to delay the vote”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

coffee icon