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
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
But firing an arsenal of nuclear weapons at the asteroid doesn't require as much subtlety or nuance.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
The Uzbek defender does not deal in subtleties.
—Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subtlety
Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
What resonated with the producers was the subtlety of the loss.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
But firing an arsenal of nuclear weapons at the asteroid doesn't require as much subtlety or nuance.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
The Uzbek defender does not deal in subtleties.
—Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 15 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
-
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 8 Oct. 2025.
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