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
The Philharmonic has emerged from its holiday break sounding fresh and vigorous, yet open to a pair of conductors clearly interested in drawing out subtleties.
—
Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
But is there a way to get the subtlety and nuance of a large-capsule condenser microphone in a design that can reject bleed from other instruments but still pick up and convey the nuances in the singer’s vocals?
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
The intricate subtleties and emotional expressiveness of the film’s lions were pushed to new levels.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 13 Jan. 2025
This was a crystallizing moment in my teaching career: what afflicts literature, more than book banning, is this rapid loss of the ability to read for deeper meanings, to grasp subtlety, and to understand ambiguity.
—Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 2 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for subtlety 
Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
But is there a way to get the subtlety and nuance of a large-capsule condenser microphone in a design that can reject bleed from other instruments but still pick up and convey the nuances in the singer’s vocals?
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
The intricate subtleties and emotional expressiveness of the film’s lions were pushed to new levels.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 13 Jan. 2025
This was a crystallizing moment in my teaching career: what afflicts literature, more than book banning, is this rapid loss of the ability to read for deeper meanings, to grasp subtlety, and to understand ambiguity.
—Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 2 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for subtlety
Thesaurus Entries Near subtlety
Cite this Entry
“Subtlety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subtlety. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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