subtle
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“It’s something that might be very subtle, and maybe most viewers won’t even notice it, but for me it feels like we’ve closed the distance between the characters.”
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
WSJ | Buy Side: Good Weather Skin’s Daily Lip Sun Gloss protects your lips from the sun’s rays while offering a subtle, flattering tint.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Eagle-eyed readers may have spotted that the lyrics quoted above received a subtle rewrite.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Even that subtle variation can dramatically affect how a molecule interacts with biological targets and whether it produces a biological effect.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
I moved relentlessly over the evening, back and forth, straining to remember exact words, telling inflections, any subtle insults or kindnesses I might’ve missed, and my mind—quite willingly—supplied various distortions.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Critics, including the leadership of SAG-AFTRA, counter that the displacement is already at hand in subtler ways, with background roles and commercials increasingly filled by digital doubles rather than human performers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
“There is also a subtler danger,” he writes, of AI “reflecting and reinforcing the stereotypes or ideological bias of their designers and developers.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
What draws him most is subtler than that.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
Bad Bunny’s signifiers were subtler, although some may not have contained the meaning people read into them.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2026
The second row is for folks who wanna show off but wanna act like they’re subtler about it.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
By subconsciously mirroring even the subtlest twitches of expression and biological rhythms of other people, we can channel their thoughts and feelings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
Through the warm friendship of Tara and Karan, the series also imparts one of its subtlest takes on relationships.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2023
The group’s project, which is sponsored by the Colombian government, focuses on the subtlest, non-motor symptoms of the disease.
From New York Times ● May 23, 2023
The subtlest of time capsules, “Happy Place” resonates with our shared losses from the past few years.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 23, 2023
Many patrons only glance at them before moving on, but the longer you watch, the more you can detect the subtlest of motions.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Vocabulary lists containing subtle
100 Top "SAT" Words
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Latin Root "sub" Words
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The Silent Treatment: Words Plagued by Silent Letters
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