subtile

adjective

Definition of subtilenext
as in subtle

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for subtile
  1. subtle
  2. cunning
  3. wily
  4. artful
  5. crafty
  6. trick
  7. sly
  8. tricky
Adjective
  • That possibility, however subtle, may have helped drive the legal chaos that unfolded in Baton Rouge just 48 hours before LSU was scheduled to take the field.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Birdseye maple recurs as a detail on furniture and banisters, along with subtle copper details and velvet seating.
    — Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of subtle
Adjective
  • Supporters of the administration view this back and forth as a cunning ploy to buy time for the United States to position itself more advantageously for a confrontation.
    — Leonard A. Schuette, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Owen is bamboozled by a cunning opportunist, handcuffed, and robbed in his underwear.
    — Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of cunning
Adjective
  • But the clever and wily ruler of the Sikh Kingdom of Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was obsessed with bringing the Koh-i-Noor back to India.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Maye took the snap and gave it away again, set up by some wily safety play.
    — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of wily
Adjective
  • Every element is artful, thoughtful—a genuine expression of the Sersales’ enduring love affair with contemporary art and cultural storytelling.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Greenery becomes an artful layer, softening the building and giving it a sense of (literal) grounding that tech-adulating blobitecture often lacks.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of artful
Adjective
  • Turang has been crafty on the base paths, recording 18 steals on 23 attempts.
    — Data Skrive, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • These writers saw themselves as craftsmen and their field as closed to outsiders; at the Daily Mirror, the standard-bearing populist sheet, the crafty Lamb hadn’t been able to get ahead.
    — Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of crafty
Adjective
  • As Halloween approaches, investors seem fearful that good credit performance may be more trick than treat.
    — Telis Demos, WSJ, 21 Oct. 2022
  • If the high cost of it all is more trick than treat for you, here are several ways to turn your already smart home into a spook-tacularly genius haunted house.
    — Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2021
Definition of trick
Adjective
  • Both shows make use of the parody defense, of course, that being the sly way for comedic artists to cash in on someone else’s intellectual property by insisting that their motives are honorably satirical.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026
  • But it was filled with quicksilver, roller-coaster displays of virtuosity and the sly humor Lutoslawski and fellow Polish composer and pianist Andrzej Panufnik brought to their Paganini variations in its original 1941 iteration.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of sly
Adjective
  • At Apple, Ternus has tackled some of the company’s trickiest hardware problems, including playing a pivotal role in the company’s 2007 iMac, which was the first to feature the iconic aluminum casing.
    — Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Measuring the effectiveness of cloud seeding has been a tricky challenge over the years, and the news out of Alaska comes as interest grows in using cloud seeding to combat drought in the West.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of tricky
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

subterranean
subtile
subtilty
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Cite this Entry

“Subtile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subtile. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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