subtle

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   So slight that it is not easy to notice.

   Their whole attitude had undergone a subtle change.

2. 2
   adj

   Clever at noticing or making fine distinctions.

   It took a subtle mind to solve the puzzle.

3. 3
   adj

   Acting in a hidden and often harmful way.

   The poison had a subtle effect that no one detected at first.

The adjective is derived from Middle English sotil, soubtil, subtil (“of a person, the mind, etc.: clever, ingenious, penetrating; cunning, sly; insidious; delicate, fine; not dense, light, thin; finely powdered; narrow, slender; etc.”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman sotel, subtil, sutil, Middle French soutil, subtil, sutil, and Old French sotil, soutil, subtil, sutil (“of an object: skilfully designed or made; delicate, fine; slender, thin; of an intangible thing: difficult to understand; of a person: discerning, shrewd; devious, sly; etc.”) (modern French subtil), from Latin subtīlis (“of textu…

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