What does subtile mean?

Definitions for subtile
ˈsʌt l, ˈsʌb tɪlsub·tile

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word subtile.


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Wiktionary

  1. subtileadjective

    subtle

  2. Etymology: From subtilis, perhaps, from sub + tela; see tela, toil.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. SUBTILEadjective

    Etymology: subtile, Fr. subtilis, Lat.

    From his eyes the fleeting fair
    Retir’d, like subtle smoke dissolv’d in air. John Dryden, Georg.

    Deny Des Cart his subtile matter,
    You leave him neither fire nor water. Matthew Prior.

    Is not the heat conveyed through the vacuum by the vibrations of a much subtiler medium than air, which, after the air was drawn out, remained in the vacuum? Isaac Newton, Opt.

    But of the clock which in our breasts we bear,
    The subtile motions we forget the while. Davies.

    Thou only know’st her nature, and her pow’rs;
    Her subtile form thou only can’st define. Davies.

    I do distinguish plain
    Each subtile line of her immortal face. Davies.

    Pass we the slow disease and subtile pain,
    Which our weak frame is destin’d to sustain;
    The cruel stone, the cold catarrh. Matthew Prior.

    Arrius, a priest in the church of Alexandria, a subtile witted and a marvellous fair spoken man, was discontented that one should be placed before him in honour, whose superior he thought himself in desert, because through envy and stomach prone unto contradiction. Richard Hooker.

    Think you this York
    Was not incensed by his subtle mother,
    To taunt and scorn you? William Shakespeare, Richard III.

    O subtile love, a thousand wiles thou hast
    By humble suit, by service, or by hire,
    To win a maiden’s hold. Edward Fairfax.

    A woman, an harlot and subtile of heart. Prov. vii. 10.

    Nor thou his malice, and false guile, contemn:
    Subtile he needs must be, who could seduce
    Angels. John Milton, Paradise Lost.

    Like a bowl upon a subtle ground,
    I’ve tumbled past the throw. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

    Things remote from use, obscure and subtle. John Milton.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Subtileadjective

    thin; not dense or gross; rare; as, subtile air; subtile vapor; a subtile medium

  2. Subtileadjective

    delicately constituted or constructed; nice; fine; delicate; tenuous; finely woven

  3. Subtileadjective

    acute; piercing; searching

  4. Subtileadjective

    characterized by nicety of discrimination; discerning; delicate; refined; subtle

  5. Subtileadjective

    sly; artful; cunning; crafty; subtle; as, a subtile person; a subtile adversary; a subtile scheme

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Subtile

    sub′til, adj. delicately constructed: fine: thin or rare: piercing: shrewd.—adv. Sub′tilely.—ns. Sub′tileness; Subtilisā′tion.—v.t. Sub′tilise, to make subtile, thin, or rare: to spin into niceties.—v.i. to make nice distinctions: to refine in argument.—ns. Sub′tilism, the quality of being subtile; Sub′tilty, state or quality of being subtile: fineness: extreme acuteness: cunning. [L. subtilissub, under, tela, a web.]

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of subtile in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of subtile in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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"subtile." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/subtile>.

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