English

Alternative forms

• subtil (obsolete)
• subtile (obsolete)

Adjective

subtle ‎(comparative subtler, superlative subtlest)

1. Hard to grasp; not obvious or easily understood; barely noticeable.

   The difference is subtle, but you can hear it if you listen carefully.

   • 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; and J[acob] Tonson, at Shakespear's Head over-against Catherine-Street in the Strand, OCLC 731619916; 5th edition, Dublin: Printed by S. Powell, for G. Risk, G. Ewing, and W. Smith, in Dame's-street, 1727, OCLC 728300884, page 7:

     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.

2. (of a thing) Cleverly contrived.
3. (of a person or animal) Cunning, skillful.
4. Insidious.
   • 1623, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third, Act IV, scene 4:

     Thy age confirmed, proud, subtle, bloody, treacherous.

5. Tenuous; rarefied; of low density or thin consistency.

Synonyms

• (cunning, skillful): crafty, cunning, skillful
• (insidious): insidious

Antonyms

• (hard to grasp): simple

Derived terms

Translations

References

• subtle in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• subtle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• J[ohn] A. Simpson and E[dward] S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ISBN 978-0-19-861186-8.

Anagrams

• bluest
• bluets
• bustle
• sublet