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SUBTLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
Example:
a subtle poison
Synonyms:
insidious; pernicious; subtle
Classified under:
Similar:
harmful (causing or capable of causing harm)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
Example:
that elusive thing the soul
Synonyms:
elusive; subtle
Classified under:
Similar:
impalpable (imperceptible to the senses or the mind)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Able to make fine distinctions
Example:
a subtle mind
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
perceptive (having the ability to perceive or understand; keen in discernment)
Context examples:
She was altered in some subtle way.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
But our dispute, friend, is concerning the nature of that subtle essence which we call thought.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
This again required a precise and subtle judgment.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
By analysing subtle variations in the light from the star, they found traces of chemical elements in amounts that scientists had never before observed at a white dwarf.
(First Giant Planet around White Dwarf Found, ESO)
But because these earlier studies tended to analyze relatively small numbers of people, each individual study was too limited to detect common genetic variations that might exert subtle effects on disease risk.
(Over 100 Genetic Sites Tied to Schizophrenia, NIH)
There’s a subtle relationship between the mitochondria and nuclei in our cells that we’re only just starting to understand.
(Interplay between mitochondria and the nucleus may have implications for changing cell’s ‘batteries’, University of Cambridge)
The results show that animals can read subtle ocean cues and follow them to where food is concentrated.
(Blue sharks use ocean eddies as fast-tracks to food, National Science Foundation)
The difference in distance from one night to the next will be very subtle, so if it’s cloudy on Sunday, go out on Monday.
(November Supermoon a Spectacular Sight, NASA)
As WASP-19b passes in front of its parent star, some of the starlight passes through the planet’s atmosphere and leaves subtle fingerprints in the light that eventually reaches Earth.
(Inferno World with Titanium Skies, ESO)
Both Kepler and its K2 mission discover new planets by measuring the subtle dip in a star's brightness caused by a planet passing in front of its star.
(Kepler Confirms 100+ Exoplanets During Its K2 Mission, NASA)
