as in cunning
skill in achieving one's ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means
we appreciated the subtlety with which our host indicated that it was time to leave: he volunteered to pack us a little lunch for the road
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Recent Examples of subtlety
Physicists began to appreciate the subtlety of this situation more than two decades ago and have been exploring the quantum mechanical version of the second law ever since.
—
Quanta Magazine, 1 Oct. 2025
Saudis studying abroad lose the subtleties of the language and miss out on the culture, memes, and everything else that defines this generation.
—Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2025
There was little subtlety in his threats.
—Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
What resonated with the producers was the subtlety of the loss.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subtlety
Quanta Magazine, 1 Oct. 2025
Saudis studying abroad lose the subtleties of the language and miss out on the culture, memes, and everything else that defines this generation.
—Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2025
There was little subtlety in his threats.
—Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
What resonated with the producers was the subtlety of the loss.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subtlety
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subtlety
Noun
-
Federico Marchetti, the Italian fashion entrepreneur, is a master of sprezzatura—the courtier’s art of cloaking ambition and cunning in an air of guileless nonchalance.—
John Seabrook,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
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But Israeli cunning, buoyed by remarkable intelligence capabilities and precision targeting, has damaged the group.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
There is a real seriousness to the score — the scheming bad-guy music has the artfulness of Prokofiev, and even the sneaking-around cues have musical integrity and structure.—
Tim Greiving,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subtlety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subtlety. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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