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subtlermore about subtler

subtler

 

  1  definition  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Subtle  \Sub"tle\,  a.  [Compar.  {Subtler};  superl.  {Subtlest}.] 
  [OE.  sotil,  subtil,  OF  soutil,  later  subtil,  F.  subtil,  L. 
  subtilis;  probably,  originally,  woven  fine,  and  fr  sub  under 
  +  tela  a  web,  fr  texere  to  weave.  See  {Text},  and  cf 
  {Subtile}.] 
  1.  Sly  in  design;  artful;  cunning;  insinuating;  subtile;  -- 
  applied  to  persons;  as  a  subtle  foe.  ``A  subtle 
  traitor.''  --Shak. 
 
  2.  Cunningly  devised;  crafty;  treacherous;  as  a  subtle 
  stratagem. 
 
  3.  Characterized  by  refinement  and  niceness  in  drawing 
  distinctions;  nicely  discriminating;  --  said  of  persons; 
  as  a  subtle  logician;  refined;  tenuous;  sinuous; 
  insinuating;  hence  penetrative  or  pervasive;  --  said  of 
  the  mind;  its  faculties,  or  its  operations;  as  a  subtle 
  intellect;  a  subtle  imagination;  a  subtle  process  of 
  thought;  also  difficult  of  apprehension;  elusive. 
 
  Things  remote  from  use  obscure  and  subtle. 
  --Milton. 
 
  4.  Smooth  and  deceptive.  [Obs.] 
 
  Like  to  a  bowl  upon  a  subtle  ground  [bowling 
  ground].  --Shak. 
 
  Syn:  Artful;  crafty;  cunning;  shrewd;  sly;  wily. 
 
  Usage:  Subtle  is  the  most  comprehensive  of  these  epithets  and 
  implies  the  finest  intellectual  quality.  See  {Shrewd}, 
  and  {Cunning}.




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