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subtle

[suht-l] / ˈsʌt l /




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.

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The title track is one of several cuts featuring guitarist Meg Duffy of Hand Habits, who specializes in subtle harmonic accents that enrich a song’s meaning.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 18, 2026

"Within that loop we found subtle, yet consistent, clues to its behavior."

From Science Daily Aug. 11, 2026

Atletico Madrid's new home shirt platforms the Rojiblancos' famous stripes, together with a subtle trident motif - a symbol associated with the club's fans, who gather at Madrid's Neptune Fountain to celebrate victories.

From BBC Aug. 9, 2026

Recognizable by a subtle sparkly strip hidden inside a collar or on an aglet at the end of a drawstring cord, Cucinelli’s luxury clothing brand employs a muted palette of tans and grays.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 6, 2026

Not working hard and not caring—even theft—were subtle types of rebellion, the only ways for enslaved people to fight back.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

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

It remains to be seen whether “Kitchen Undercover” will rely on prosthetics, fake mustaches or merely the subtler costume of the unrecognized employee.

From Salon Jul. 5, 2026

It’s a subtler way to exert leverage over the world’s most important oil chokepoint, analysts at J.P.

From MarketWatch May 19, 2026

What draws him most is subtler than that.

From BBC Apr. 29, 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

In his subtlest, most challenging and finest performance since his Oscar-nominated double role in “Adaptation.”

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 4, 2024

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

Tragedy turned him into one of the subtlest and sharpest satirists in American letters.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin




Vocabulary lists containing subtle


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