SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
subtle
adjective
Not obvious and requiring care to notice or understand.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Not obvious
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topSubtle can describe an effect that is hard to notice or a finely differentiated idea. Nuanced emphasizes distinctions, while faint chiefly concerns weak intensity.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See subtle in use
A subtle change in wording altered the promise being made.
Two actors offered different versions of the final speech, and each rendition drew attention to a different part of the text. In one, a subtle pause before the traveler's last sentence suggested reluctance to leave without adding any new words.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license