noun · 12 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
California:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian, New-Zealand:/ˈsɐt(ə)lti/
QueenslandRecorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:S AH1 T AH0 L T IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The quality of being subtle.
The quality of being scarcely noticeable or difficult to discern. (of things)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
the subtlety of the Mona Lisa’s smile
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The quality of being subtle.
The quality of being done in a clever way that is not obvious or not direct; the quality of being carefully thought out. (of things)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
the subtlety of a writer’s analysis / of a singer’s phrasing
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: refinement
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
The quality of being subtle.
The quality of being able to achieve one's aims through clever, delicate or indirect methods. (of people)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
With all his usual subtlety, he quietly fixed the problem before anyone else noticed it.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: discretion, finesse, savoir-faire
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
The quality of being subtle.
The quality of being able to notice or understand things that are not obvious. (of people)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: acumen, perceptiveness, perspicacity
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
An instance of being subtle, a subtle thing, especially a subtle argument or distinction.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable
Examples
The subtleties of this overture are often overlooked.
1561, William Whittingham et al. (translators), Geneva Bible, Wisdom of Solomon 8.8, [S]he [Wisdom] knoweth the subtilties of wordes, and the solutions of darke sentences:
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: nicety, nuance
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
An ornate medieval illusion dish or table decoration, especially when made from one thing but crafted to look like another.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, historical
Examples
At the king's coronation feast, several subtleties were served between main courses.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
The quality of being clever in surreptitious or deceitful behaviour; an act or argument that shows this quality.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: deception, illusion
Antonyms: none provided
9
noun
Meaning 9
The property of having a low density or thin consistency.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete, uncountable
Examples
1630, Thomas Johnson (translator/editor), A Treatise of the Plague [...] Collected out of the workes of [...] Ambrose Parey, London, Chapter 11, p. 33, Therefore at Paris where naturally, and also through the aboundance of filth that is about the Citie, the Aire is darke and grosse, the pestilent Infection is lesse fierce and contagious then it is in Prouince, for the subtletie of the Aire stimulates or helps forward the Plague.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
10
noun
Meaning 10
The property of being able to penetrate materials easily.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: penetrancy, piercingness
Antonyms: none provided
11
noun
Meaning 11
the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
you had to admire the subtlety of the distinctions he drew
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: niceness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: difficulty, difficultness
12
noun
Meaning 12
a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor
From Middle English sotilte, from Old French sutilté, inherited from Latin subtīlitās, from subtīlis (“subtle”). Equivalent to subtle + -ty. Doublet of subtility.
Across languages
Translations
53 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Asturian:
sutileza
— quality or act of being subtle
Catalan:
subtilesa
— quality or act of being subtle
Chinese Mandarin:
微妙
(wēimiào)
— quality or act of being subtle
Czech:
jemnost
— quality or act of being subtle
Czech:
prchavost
— quality or act of being subtle
Czech:
delikátnost
— quality or act of being subtle
Czech:
decentnost
— quality or act of being subtle
Finnish:
hienovaraisuus
— quality or act of being subtle
French:
subtilité
— quality or act of being subtle
Galician:
sutileza
— quality or act of being subtle
German:
Geschicklichkeit
— quality or act of being subtle
German:
Feinheit
— quality or act of being subtle
German:
Feinsinn
— quality or act of being subtle
German:
Feinsinnigkeit
— quality or act of being subtle
German:
Raffinesse
— quality or act of being subtle
German:
Raffiniertheit
— quality or act of being subtle
German:
Scharfsinn
— quality or act of being subtle
German:
Scharfsinnigkeit
— quality or act of being subtle
German:
Subtilität
— quality or act of being subtle
German:
Zartheit
— quality or act of being subtle
Greek:
λεπτότητα
(leptótita)
— quality or act of being subtle
Italian:
sottigliezza
— quality or act of being subtle
Japanese:
微妙
(bimyō)
— quality or act of being subtle
Latin:
argūtiae
— quality or act of being subtle
Latin:
subtīlitās
— quality or act of being subtle
Polish:
subtelność
— quality or act of being subtle
Polish:
delikatność
— quality or act of being subtle
Portuguese:
sutileza
— quality or act of being subtle
Portuguese:
subtileza
— quality or act of being subtle
Russian:
то́нкость
(tónkostʹ)
— quality or act of being subtle
Spanish:
delicadeza
— quality or act of being subtle
Spanish:
sutileza
— quality or act of being subtle
Spanish:
sutilidad
— quality or act of being subtle
Swedish:
subtilitet
— quality or act of being subtle
Turkish:
incelik
— quality or act of being subtle
Turkish:
kurnazlık
— quality or act of being subtle
Turkish:
zekilik
— quality or act of being subtle
Turkish:
ustalık
— quality or act of being subtle
Turkish:
anlaşılmazlık
— quality or act of being subtle
Asturian:
sutileza
— an instance of being subtle
Czech:
nuance
— an instance of being subtle
Czech:
jemnůstka
— an instance of being subtle
French:
subtilité
— an instance of being subtle
Galician:
sutileza
— an instance of being subtle
Polish:
subtelność
— an instance of being subtle
Portuguese:
sutileza
— an instance of being subtle
Portuguese:
subtileza
— an instance of being subtle
Russian:
утончённость
(utončónnostʹ)
— an instance of being subtle
