Category:Subtle

Sub"tle, a. [compar. Subtler; superl. Subtlest.] Etym: [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. Subtle is the most Comprehensive of these epithets and implies the finest intellectual Quality. See shrewd, and cunning.