subtlein a sentencegrouped by contextual meaning
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She is working subtly against us.
subtly = working in a way that is hard to see
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- It is a subtle poison. In small doses, it might never be detected, but eventually your heart will fail.
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With all the subtlety of a bulldozer I wrote my paper on the effect bipolar parents have on their children.
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subtlety = non-obvious manner
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Then a true swamp settled deep with its low-earth smell and fusty air. Sudden, subtle, and silent all at once, it stretched into the mouth of the dark receding forest.
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subtle = working in a way that is hard to see
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It's not the overt bullying that does it, either. It's the subtle manipulation of the situation. The bullying almost acts as cover for what's really going on.
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subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
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There wasn't any poison, nothing as subtle as that.
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subtle = working in a hidden way
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There is a misty plot afoot so subtle we should be criminal to cling to old respects and ancient friendships.
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subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
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And speaking of not-so-subtle, the heap of dollar bills that just fell out of my locker, along with a note, were a good indicator that I may not be very welcome.
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subtle = done in a manner that is indirect or hidden (not obvious)
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"I'd love to look around," Hana hints not-so-subtly.
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subtly = working in an indirect or hidden manner
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What if this were all a subtle trap?
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subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
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A poison--so subtle, so insidious . . . so irreversible. It won't even kill you unless you stop taking it.
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subtle = working in a hidden way
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It was one thing to screw up a huge weapon. It was another thing to screw it up so subtly that no one noticed until it was too late.
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subtly = working in an indirect or hidden way
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"You never told me what you thought of the picture." Nice try, Clay, but that's not why you're here.
"...What do you want? Because you don't do subtle well." (source)subtle = things done in a hidden or indirect way
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Some were shamelessly open, some shamelessly subtle.
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subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
- But behind that display of sleeping force were other and much subtler weapons. (source)
- It looked as though the Old South was still alive and well, a little more subtle, without the sheets and night riders, but a force that still tolerated little deviation from the norm. (source)
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Or Katharine would die, and by subtle maneuverings Winston and Julia would succeed in getting married.
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subtle = indirect or hidden
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But even if He defeats your first attempt at misdirection, we have a subtler weapon.
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subtler = more indirect or non-obvious thing or manner that harms
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He had felt a subtle, dark, and murmurous presence penetrate his being...
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subtle = hidden and harmful
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There were poisons so subtle that to know their properties one had to sicken of them.
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subtle = hidden in the way they work
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All this was accomplished with a subtlety so perfect, that the minister, though he had constantly a dim perception of some evil influence watching over him, could never gain a knowledge of its actual nature.
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subtlety = working in an indirect or hidden way
- I peek over Lauren's shoulder and copy down two of her answers—I'm good at being subtle about it— (source)
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"You don't have to cover for the fact that you wanted to see me, Leigh, but subtlety is always appreciated."
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subtlety = something that is indirect or non-obvious -- often harmful or intentionally hidden
- His name struck fear in the souls of all his employees and his hand ruled the passages of his carpeted bailiwick with the subtlety of a sword. (source)
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That was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed.
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subtlety = something that is indirect or non-obvious
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We have had, and may still have, worse things to tell of him; but none, we apprehend, so pitiably weak; no evidence, at once so slight and irrefragable, of a subtle disease that had long since begun to eat into the real substance of his character.
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subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
- Dames of elevated rank, likewise, whose doors she entered in the way of her occupation, were accustomed to distil drops of bitterness into her heart; sometimes through that alchemy of quiet malice, by which women can concoct a subtle poison from ordinary trifles; and sometimes, also, by a coarser expression, that fell upon the sufferer's defenceless breast like a rough blow upon an ulcerated wound. (source)
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Certainly there was some deep meaning in it most worthy of interpretation, and which, as it were, streamed forth from the mystic symbol, subtly communicating itself to my sensibilities, but evading the analysis of my mind.
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subtly = indirectly in a way that is hard to see
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and round the posts he poured the chains in a sweeping net
with streams of others flowing down from the roofbeam,
gossamer-fine as spider webs no man could see,
not even a blissful god—
the Smith had forged a masterwork of guile.
Once he'd spun that cunning trap around his bed
...
and uncontrollable laughter burst from the happy gods
when they saw the god of fire's subtle, cunning work. (source)subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
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you actually entertained my husband as you say.
Come, tell me what sort of clothing he wore,
what cut of man was he?
What of the men who followed in his train?"
"Ah good woman,"
Odysseus, the great master of subtlety, returned,
"how hard it is to speak, after so much time
apart …. (source)subtlety = something that is indirect or non-obvious -- often harmful or intentionally hidden
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The minister well knew—subtle, but remorseful hypocrite that he was!—the light in which his vague
confession would be viewed. (source)subtle = working in an indirect or hidden way
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Her warning was subtle, but unmistakable.
subtle = understated (so as not to draw attention to itself)
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She likes dramatic statements, but he prefers to be subtle.
subtle = understated so as not to draw excess attention
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In the weeks that followed, Tyler began to test my parents in the subtle, nonconfrontational way that was uniquely his.
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subtle = understated so as not to draw attention
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They weren't very subtle.
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subtle = understated (not obvious so it wouldn't be noticed)
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By then, Khala Jamila's initially subtle hints had become overt, as in "Kho dega!"
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subtle = mild (understated)
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He gives me a subtle thumbs-up.
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subtle = understated so as not to draw attention to itself
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I try to subtly hide the cover with my hand.
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subtly = in a manner that does not draw attention
- I pulled away as subtly as I could manage. (source)
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Her hair was done up with a row of yellow jewels pinned into a line across the front in a very subtle resemblance to a crown.
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subtle = not obvious, but noticeable
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"Ouch," I said, trying to be subtle in taking a glance at my watch: five minutes had passed.
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subtle = understated (not obvious so it wouldn't be noticed)
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Charlie, in an obvious maneuver that he meant to be subtle, shrugged in between us and put his arm around my shoulders.
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subtle = understated so as not to draw attention
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It's a simple sleeveless shift dress with a very subtle scoop neck and a slight A-line skirt that hits just barely above my knee.
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subtle = understated so as not to draw attention to itself
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And we ourselves become somehow not ourselves, but we turn subtler, weirder, less attached to our bodies, less attached to our names.
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subtler = more understated (less obvious as individuals)
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It is not bad--at first, and very gentle, but quite the subtlest, most enduring odor I ever met.
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subtlest = most understated
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Then, not so subtly, he told me to mention his art to Prince Maxon.
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subtly = in an understated (non-obvious) manner
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I stare them down for a few more seconds, debating whether to unleash the smile all at once or just let it subtly drift across my face, when I'm interrupted by a voice behind me.
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subtly = in an understated manner
- a subtle elegance
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Holly came by with the check, an unsubtle reminder that we'd overstayed our welcome.
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unsubtle = obviousstandard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unsubtle means not and reverses the meaning of subtle. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
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As we drove, Daisy struck up a wholly unsubtle conversation.
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unsubtle = direct
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It must needs be of subtle, tender, and delicate temperance.
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subtle = mild (understated)
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She guessed which spices were used by their subtle aromas.
subtle = not obvious, but identifiable by someone with adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge
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She used subtle reasoning to expose the absurdity of his argument.
subtle = making use of slight distinctions
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Her whole attitude had undergone a subtle change.
subtle = not obvious, but noticeable by someone with adequate sensitivity
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She has a good eye for subtle differences in color.
subtle = not obvious, but identifiable by someone with adequate sensitivity
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His heart sank as he thought of the enormous power arrayed against him, the ease with which any Party intellectual would overthrow him in debate, the subtle arguments which he would not be able to understand, much less answer.
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subtle = requiring fine distinctions and relevant knowledge
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But Hassan's face was my earliest memory and I knew all of its subtle nuances, knew each and every twitch and flicker that ever rippled across it.
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subtle = slightly noticeable
- The only indication of the passage of time lies in the heavens, the subtle shift of the moon. (source)
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Her mistakes, which sound so awful to her, are barely noticeable.
...
Every one of them is small, subtle, but they are mistakes nonetheless. (source)subtle = slightly noticeable (requiring fine distinctions and relevant knowledge)
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But those changes are subtle and hard to measure.
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subtle = difficult to notice
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You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking,
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subtle = difficult to understand without adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge
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He soon discovered, however, what Muir and Thoreau already knew: An extended stay in the wilderness inevitably directs one's attention outward as much as inward, and it is impossible to live off the land without developing both a subtle understanding of, and a strong emotional bond with, that land and all it holds.
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subtle = with fine distinctions that are not obvious
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It was a subtle change, hard to identify at first.
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subtle = not obvious (a barely noticeable difference)
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But he seemed not to hear us as his eyes met Mr. Morrison's and the two of them smiled in subtle understanding, the distance between them fading.
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subtle = slightly noticeable
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Though the details differed each time, Edgar got the idea that Claude and his father had slipped without their knowing it into some irresistible rhythm of taunt and reply whose references were too subtle or too private to decipher.
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subtle = complex and understated
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Kavinsky? Are you kidding me? He's so obvious. I thought you'd be into someone more ... I don't know, subtle. Peter Kavinsky's such a cliché. He's like a cardboard cutout of a 'cool guy' in a movie about high school.
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subtle = with fine distinctions that are not obvious
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Somehow, they carried the authority of middle pretties without the firm jaw, the subtly lined eyes, or the elegant clothing.
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subtly = slightly noticeable
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I can pick up on subtle clues.
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subtle = slightly noticeable or difficult to understand
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Until my father explained it to me later, I did not understand the subtlety of Tom's predicament: he would not have dared strike a white woman under any circumstances and expect to live long, so he took the first opportunity to run— a sure sign of guilt.
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subtlety = non-obvious nature
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The change was in subtler things--the tilt of Alyss' head, the particular sweep of her arms, her careful steps forward.
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subtler = less noticeable
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All at once Kit was aware that this New England, which had shown her the miracle of autumn and the white wonder of snow, had a new secret in store. This time it was a subtle promise, a tantalizing hint of beauty still withheld, a beckoning to her spirit to follow she knew not where. She had forgotten that summer would come again, that the green would spread over the frozen fields, that...
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subtle = slightly noticeable
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I'd go to Monet's and write a poem or two. My first few attempts were a bit sad. Not much depth or subtlety. Pretty straightforward.
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subtlety = things that are not stated directly, but can be understood by someone with adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge
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I'd only known Rogerson for three months, but I could recognize instantly the subtle signs of him growing irritated:
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subtle = slightly noticeable
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...hawk features, blue-ink eyes that suggested he was a native of Arrakis, but subtleties of movement and stance told her he was not.
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subtleties = things that are slightly noticeable
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Absentmindedly, I twisted my right hand to the side, and watched the sunlight glitter subtly off the scar James had left there.
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subtly = in a slightly noticeable manner
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And though his voice is the same, there's something subtly different about him.
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subtly = not obvious, but understandable by someone with adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge
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There was a subtle limp to her walk, maybe, but if I hadn't known what had happened, I would have just assumed she was coming in from a long afternoon of working in the Garden.
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subtle = not obvious, but noticeable if you look carefully
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He noticed the subtle differences as she changed before his eyes.
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subtle = slightly noticeable
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It's subtle, and I doubt most people would notice, because the change is mostly in the eyes, but I can see the difference.
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subtle = not obvious (a barely noticeable difference)
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"Mark their subtleties, Sire," said Poggin to the King.
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subtleties = things that are hard to notice
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Sometimes it appeared as though they played some vast and complicated game with me and the rest of the school folk, a game whose goal was laughter and whose rules and subtleties I could never grasp.
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subtleties = distinctions that are hard to notice
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One of those exams where the wrong, subtle interpretation of the facts made the difference between pass and fail.
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subtle = difficult to understand (requiring finely tuned sensitivity and relevant knowledge)
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That he has a sense of humor that's often so subtle it takes you hours to catch up.
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subtle = understated so it is hard to notice or understand (perhaps requiring an understanding of find distinctions)
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The experience had subtler points that did not escape Rutledge.
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subtler = harder to notice or understand
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The Supervisor did not use those actual words, of course, and the thoughts he really expressed were far more subtle.
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subtle = difficult to understand -- often due to slight distinctions
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I believe that subtleties of feeling began to disappear until finally I was on a pleasure-pain basis.
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subtleties = things that are not obvious
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...what has remained is an indefinable nonspeech, flavored subtly with a nonaccent, and decipherable to no one, black or white, on the American continent.
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subtly = not obvious, but noticeable
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It was always new, familiar though the body and its responses became, and as physical as the act was, requiring such roughness, control and subtlety.
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subtlety = sensitivity to fine distinctions
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The scent organ was playing a delightfully refreshing Herbal Capriccio–rippling arpeggios of thyme and lavender, of rosemary, basil, myrtle, tarragon; a series of daring modulations through the spice keys into ambergris; and a slow return through sandalwood, camphor, cedar and newmown hay (with occasional subtle touches of discord–a whiff of kidney pudding, the faintest suspicion of pig's dung) back to the simple aromatics with which the piece began.
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subtle = with fine distinctions that are not obvious
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Here, on the borders of death, life follows an amazingly simple course, it is limited to what is most necessary, all else lies buried in gloomy sleep;—in that besides our primitiveness and our survival. Were we more subtly differentiated we must long since have gone mad, have deserted, or have fallen.
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subtly = in a manner that focuses on things other than those that are the most pressing
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I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all — Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life.
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subtly = in a non-obvious manner
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In a hard and warlike time he was celebrate that he have more iron nerve, more subtle brain, more braver heart, than any man.
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subtle = clever (capable of understanding things not comprehensible to most)
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a subtle gloom
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subtle = slightly noticeable
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These dreams came again later on, developed to a more subtle psychological stage.
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subtle = slightly noticeable or difficult to understand
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the loveliness and subtleties of certain colours
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subtleties = slightly noticeable differences
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A heart too deep for common minds to plumb, A spirit subtle, charming?
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subtle = with fine distinctions that are not obvious
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...after living for three years within the subtle influence of an intellect like Emerson's;
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subtle = intelligent
- Even my father, who cared nothing for the subtleties of nymph arts, admired it.† (source)
- But, no matter, the Meanys were invulnerable to such subtleties as tone of voice.† (source)
- The appointment made one ineligible as a candidate during the election, and it also required one spend many days prior to conclave poring over the pages of the Universi Dominici Gregis reviewing the subtleties of conclave's arcane rituals to ensure the election was properly administered.† (source)
- No subtleties now.† (source)
- Marriage is not an elvish custom, and the subtleties of it often escape me.† (source)
- Here is another example of the subtleties of persuasion.† (source)
- Pea Eye, who liked to take life one simple step at a time, had not appreciated the subtleties of the situation.† (source)
- We're great admirers of Bono, who has been indefatigable in support of aid for Africa and who knows the subtleties of development; he talks poverty policy as well as he sings.† (source)
- Smith took Workman to Pollard's hospital bed for a tutorial on the subtleties of riding Seabiscuit.† (source)
- The subtleties of each step!† (source)
- The intuitive brilliance he'd shown in childhood now focused acutely on the inner subtleties and structures of Marine life.† (source)
- Link wasn't big on subtleties, and I don't think he could imagine hanging out with a girl for any reason other than maybe she played lead guitar, except for the obvious ones.† (source)
- Great men understood subtleties, and he had been subtle in ways his brilliant uncle would appreciate.† (source)
- He is versed in foreign policy and domestic legislation and can give a tutorial on the subtleties of backroom wheeling and dealing.† (source)
- Even in silhouette, Scathach's strength and sorrow were evident in subtleties of poise and posture.† (source)
- They yield to a bias and they entangle themselves in words and subtleties.† (source)
- He had spent several years learning the subtleties of controlling one, and then a second, goblin tribe.† (source)
- His visible eye seemed mild and noncommittal, but Oedipa wondered what hang-ups, crises, spookings in the middle of the night might be developed from the shadowed subtleties of his mouth, hidden under a full beard.† (source)
- I have never written fast or easily and this was no exception, for even then I was compelled to search, however inadequately, for the right word and suffered over the rhythms and subtleties of our gorgeous but unbenevolent, unyielding tongue; nonetheless, I was seized by a strange, dauntless self-confidence and I scribbled away joyously while the characters I had begun to create seemed to acquire a life of their own and the muggy atmosphere of the Tidewater summer took on both an…† (source)
- You are wise, maybe, Mithrandir, yet with all your subtleties you have not all wisdom.† (source)
- He was in no shape to catch any subtleties, that was for sure.† (source)
- Leamas, who was not particularly receptive to such subtleties, found it hard to remember that he was in a private flat and not a hotel.† (source)
- For a long time the doctor could not understand these subtleties.† (source)
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Gradually, subtly, the ringing in my right ear diminishes until it's gone entirely.
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subtly = in a slightly noticeable manner
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The difference between Renesmee an hour ago and Renesmee now was subtler.
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subtler = less noticeable
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I was beginning to notice a subtle change in my father these days, that came out when he talked with Aunt Alexandra.
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subtle = slightly noticeable
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With subtle shifts of angle in the way he held the looking glass, Dodge steered them over and they linked up with it.
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subtle = requiring fine distinctions
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They seem to see the mob of Unwinds more as a concept rather than a collection of anxious kids, and so they miss all the subtle social tremors that shake things just as powerfully as the jets shake the roof.
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subtle = slightly noticeable (requiring fine distinctions and relevant knowledge)
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The signs of our elopement were subtle: My parents' wedding picture was gone, as was the grainy photograph of my grandfather and King Nader Shah standing over the dead deer.
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subtle = not obvious
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With a bow too subtle for those around them to notice, she directly addressed Alyss for the first time: "Homburg Molly, at your service, Princess."
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subtle = difficult to notice
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After our recent clash with The Cat, I thought you might have become a man of heroic action and no longer cared for the subtleties of the intellect.
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subtleties = distinctions that are hard to notice
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The clues were pretty subtle.
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subtle = difficult to understand or hard to notice
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"Most people are going to have a hard enough time accepting that we're not monsters, without reports about us maiming innocent people," Clancy said. "So, please, keep spreading the black. Keep using the symbol. Just . . . try for some subtlety."
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subtlety = something that is not obvious, but noticeable by someone with adequate sensitivity and relevant knowledge
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There is a subtle play of looks and tones and laughs by which a Mortal can imply that he is of the same party is those to whom he is speaking.
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subtle = slightly noticeable
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But there were other days when they settled down to their work almost eagerly, making a tremendous show of entering up their minutes and drafting long memoranda which were never finished — when the argument as to what they were supposedly arguing about grew extraordinarily involved and abstruse, with subtle haggling over definitions, enormous digressions, quarrels threats, even, to appeal to higher authority.
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subtle = requiring fine distinctions
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There was something subtly wrong with Syme. ... You could not say that he was unorthodox. ... Yet a faint air of disreputability always clung to him.
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subtly = non-obvious
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But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler.
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subtler = with finer distinctions
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It need hardly be said that the subtlest practitioners of doublethink are those who invented doublethink and know that it is a vast system of mental cheating.
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subtlest = with deepest understanding
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This drama that I have played out with you during seven years will be played out over and over again generation after generation, always in subtler forms.
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subtler = with finer distinctions
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At last I felt that subtle change in the air, and knew that the morning had come.
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subtle = slightly noticeable
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Our bird when he found the cage open would not fly, so all our subtle arrangements were for nought.
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subtle = dependent upon fine distinctions
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The effect on Lucy was not bad, for the faint seemed to merge subtly into the narcotic sleep.
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subtly = non-obvious, but possible to notice
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But I can still read the gray names, and they will give you a better impression than my generalities of those who accepted Gatsby's hospitality and paid him the subtle tribute of knowing nothing whatever about him.
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subtle = not obvious, but understandable by someone with relevant knowledge
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His moods have so followed the doings of the Count, that the coming destruction of the monster may be carried to him some subtle way.
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subtle = clever
- If the Count escape us this time, and he is strong and subtle and cunning, he may choose to sleep him for a century, and then in time our dear one," he took my hand, "would come to him to keep him company, and would be as those others that you, Jonathan, saw. (source)
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In their researches into the human frame, it may be that the higher and more subtle faculties of such men were materialised, and that they lost the spiritual view of existence amid the intricacies of that wondrous mechanism, which seemed to involve art enough to comprise all of life within itself.
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subtle = requiring fine distinctions
- It's a shade too sincere, but the subtleties of irony are often wasted in 13.† (source)
- "I asked your name," Paul said, and he called up the subtleties of Voice: "Tell me your name!"† (source)
- These are subtleties that you cannot explain to a frightened farmer.† (source)
- His body was as insensitive to pain as was his mind to subtleties.† (source)
- In the subtleties of the Fremen tongue, the word meant "something acquired in battle" and with the added overtone that the something no longer was used for its original purpose.† (source)
- They are only makeshift techniques, though, and are incapable of expressing the language's true subtleties as well as our Liduen Kvaedhi, the Poetic Script.† (source)
- Besides, everything can go off the wire with one development that throws subtleties on to the garbage heap.† (source)
- Brom bypassed the normal training regimen and ignored the subtleties of gramarye to ensure that you had the skills you needed to remain alive.† (source)
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- But the Piazza did not aspire to elegance, service, or subtlety.† (source)
- Sometimes you saw it in the subtlest of ways: the old neighbor who diligently tended her garden even as her neighbors let their homes rot from the inside out; the young woman who grew up with my mom, who returned to the neighborhood every day to help her mother navigate old age.† (source)
- He subtly lets his players know to slow it down for the remainder of the half.† (source)
- It was subtle, but it was, without a doubt, there.† (source)
- Her unescorted stroll down the aisle was a subtle reminder that the manhunt for two of Maryland's most wanted was still on, now in day five.† (source)
- Thanks to their complete lack of subtlety, the whole world now knew the Jade Key must be hidden somewhere in that sector.† (source)
- He makes me the most zestyyet subtle macaroni and cheese I've ever had.† (source)
- Subtle.† (source)
- It's just a lot more subtle, because they're not all freaks.† (source)
- Harry noticed that Ron's version of events changed subtly with every retelling.† (source)
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- He had left the others, not least because the stink of Jack Dandy's cologne made finding anything subtler impossible.† (source)
- I can count on a few things: There aren't many Dauntless in the compound, the Dauntless aren't known for their subtlety, and I'll do anything to stop them.† (source)
- It was subtle but perceptible, and more pronounced with words that began with t.† (source)
- It was a subtle change in emphasis, but I knew that was the only way I could get him to accompany me.† (source)
- He has subtler methods, too.† (source)
- In a subtle kind of dry way.† (source)
- There was something subtly wrong with the face, some coarseness of expression, some hardness, perhaps of eye, some looseness of lip which marred its perfect beauty.† (source)
- What we call 'nature' is in fact a complex system of far greater subtlety than we are willing to accept.† (source)
- Retaining our humanity, cherishing our heritage, we fought the depravity of the Nazis with subtle forms of resistance.† (source)
- Since my talk with Jess the day I planted tomatoes, my sense of the men I knew had undergone a subtle shift.† (source)
- Chaol subtly cleared his throat.† (source)
- I didn't enjoy it, and for the first time I found myself thinking about the words of the song, closely listening to the subtle instruments in the beat.† (source)
- I see June make the most subtle movement with her lips.† (source)
- The technicians, school representatives, and examiners—each wearing uniforms in subtly different shades—scribble on pads of graph paper with a very narrow gauge, and sheet after sheet of this paper gets closed into leather binders with a gold lightning bolt stamped on the front.† (source)
- When at last Lola spoke her tone was reflective, as though she were pondering subtle currents of counter-arguments.† (source)
- Too subtle to notice.† (source)
- Save the subtle stuff.† (source)
- He revealed it subtly without me realizing it.† (source)
- Given her mood, it wasn't a subtlety I was prepared to argue.† (source)
- Ben came over then, and said, "Are you trying to be subtle?† (source)
- It was as if they were rejecting that stuffed pepper, which contains every imaginable flavor; sweet as candied citron, juicy as a pomegranate, with the bit of pepper and the subtlety of walnuts, that marvelous chile in walnut sauce.† (source)
- ] There is something beautiful in the subtlety of that exchange, in the attention that each party must pay to the motivations and desires of the other.† (source)
- If the old Hand had been murdered, it was deftly and subtly done.† (source)
- Even though it was light brown and said SUBTLE, NATURAL LOOK right on the package.† (source)
- I say loudly, because I've learned there's no subtle way to wake him.† (source)
- She tilted her face toward him, the subtlest of movements.† (source)
- Far less subtly than I'm sure she intended, she made wide eyes at Lucy and Anne, begging them to leave with her.† (source)
- The subtlest of hums indicated that the massive computer was now in total active mode.† (source)
- It was subtle.† (source)
- Very subtle sign language.† (source)
- It was subtle but it was there.† (source)
- Nobly they fought and bravely, but not well, And sank heart-wounded by a subtle spell.† (source)
- They're pretty subtle.† (source)
- The two on his right had subtly changed positions, had drawn closer together.† (source)
- She asked dozens of questions, questions either I or any book on coin collecting could have answered, but as the minutes passed, her questions became more subtle.† (source)
- A slight edge crept into her tone, so subtle I almost missed it.† (source)
- A subtle yet familiar fragrance filled my head.† (source)
- His sense of humor was subtle, the kind that makes you giggle aloud when you're not supposed to.† (source)
- It produced a subtle ringing.† (source)
- I had excellent vision going into the course, but it wasn't so much seeing as learning to perceive—knowing what sort of movement should get your attention, discerning subtle shapes that can tip off a waiting ambush.† (source)
- If you're deaf to this subtle conversation, it comes as a shock when the opening bid seems to be, "Madame, I request from you three thousand zaires."† (source)
- The shake is subtle and stops almost immediately.† (source)
- Finally, tired in body and spirit, I abandoned professional subtlety and asked the group I was sitting with, "Did you kill my companion?"† (source)
- It's a very subtle gift.† (source)
- What set him apart were his more subtle specifications.† (source)
- My father missed Cass, too, but his loss was more subtle.† (source)
- That the water came from the county and not the famous village was a subtlety upon which Burnham and McElroy did not dwell.† (source)
- I think it's a matter of shading and subtlety—and their opposite.† (source)
- It was not apparent to the camera, or to Francis, but to Mae it was as subtle as a gong.† (source)
- He's about sixteen or seventeen and he has freck- les and straight white teeth and he looks like a million other kids his age except for that subtle difference that marks him for what he is.† (source)
- All of the Sweet Home men, before and after Halle, treated her to a mild brotherly flirtation, so subtle you had to scratch for it.† (source)
- But as the days passed I began to discover a subtle danger.† (source)
- It's a lot subtler.† (source)
- But if they are well written, they may have more subtle ways of messing him up, so he's not wasting any time.† (source)
- It was more subtle.† (source)
- He took pains to avoid self-depreciation, self-mockery, ambiguity, irony, subtlety, vulnerability, a civilized world-weariness and a tragic sense of history-- the very things, he says, that are most natural to him.† (source)
- This was a gentler, subtler process.† (source)
- The tenor of the party seemed subtly different to Clary.† (source)
- As we continued to talk, I must say I thought I began to notice further, more subtle changes which the years had wrought on her.† (source)
- I do not know whether to view myself as an unwitting dupe, or, what is worse, a self-deluded fool; but even these doubts may be an illusion, and I may all along have been dealing with a woman so transparently innocent that in my over-subtlety I did not have the wit to recognize it.† (source)
- Enforcing rules, especially in its more subtle expressions like responsibility and expectation, is a vain attempt to create certainty out of uncertainty.† (source)
- There's nothing out of place, but the house feels different, as though things have been touched, subtly shifted out of place, and as I walk around I feel as though there's someone else here, always just out of my line of sight.† (source)
- My hands are stained red from some of the crushed petals; and they smell of earth and newrose, a sharp-flower smell that I like in spite of my mother's comments about the oldrose perfume being more subtle, more delicate.† (source)
- "It's an archaic instrument with no room for subtlety.† (source)
- It's a subtle but significant difference, recognizing the person before the condition.† (source)
- Gently, subtly suggesting, should we go to trial.† (source)
- Fermina Daza, whose straightforward character had become more subtle with the years, seized on her husband's casual words, and months after the robbery she returned to the ships from Curacao and bought a royal Paramaribo parrot, who knew only the blasphemies of sailors but said them in a voice so human that he was well worth the extravagant price of twelve centavos.† (source)
- With its subtle oddities.† (source)
- Second, I'm aware of the subtlety of being called on, acknowledged, and admired on the television circuit.† (source)
- Had nature so subtly hidden zero that all the Greeks and all the Romans…millions of them…couldn't find it?† (source)
- Subtlety is lost on Marley.† (source)
- Its timbre replaced that of the overhead lights and cast a subtle pall across the citizens in the gallery, who sat looking at one another and at the ceiling.† (source)
- Irwin's voice altered subtly.† (source)
- All their doors remained simple doors, on/off switches in the flow between two adjacent places, binarily either open or closed, but each of their doors, regarded thus with a twinge of irrational possibility, became partially animate as well, an object with a subtle power to mock, to mock the desires of those who desired to go far away, whispering silently from its door frame that such dreams were the dreams of fools.† (source)
- She wanted a glass of wine, something chilly with a subtle zip.† (source)
- There was no overt or subtle condemnation.† (source)
- The remaining students pointed and whispered with zero subtlety.† (source)
- The new president had also promised, not very subtly, a change of fortunes for the Haitian elite.† (source)
- His wit was hatpin sharp; he was absentminded; he was a bachelor but gave the impression of harboring amusing memories; he possessed a yellow cat nineteen years old; he was incomprehensible to most of Maycomb County because his conversation was colored with subtle allusions to Victorian obscurities.† (source)
- The really subtle thing is what happens next.† (source)
- I uncovered a single steppingstone, slightly worn, that led nowhere, yet lay as a subtle appendage to the small rock garden.† (source)
- Its leisurely tempo feels mismatched to the strenuousness of the exercise, but Shirakawa is subtly controlling his movements in time with the music.† (source)
- I shook my head subtly but firmly at her, transmitting a silent message—stop.† (source)
- The second was a subtler matter.† (source)
- Her job was to connect these dots, but what truly needed to be done was to draw a line long before this: the tipping point where Peter Houghton's mind had shifted, subtly, from what if to when.† (source)
- Then she helped pull on four other dresses, subtly different.† (source)
- Dinner's on the table," my mother hints not too subtly.† (source)
- Or is that a subtle put-down?† (source)
- Another deep sigh, another subtle shifting of weight, and then she takes a couple of steps backward.† (source)
- My …. instruments are not as subtle as I'd hoped."† (source)
- The emergence of HIV was subtle: it incubates for years in a human host before it kills the host.† (source)
- And in addition to subtle gestures, she laid down the law.† (source)
- At first the notes were thin, almost an undercurrent to the breeze, so subtle that he had to strain to hear them.† (source)
- And now the lighting shifts subtly to suggest the world of WALTER'S imagination, and the mood shifts from pure comedy.† (source)
- It was easy enough to find the action—two hundred–odd kids gathered around a raging bonfire to eat wasn't exactly subtle.† (source)
- For a few minutes they pressed ahead in silence; then some subtle excitement made them break into a run.† (source)
- Dramatic effects often have distant, even subtle, causes.† (source)
- But I was learning something every day, resolving some new subtlety or mystery through observation or instruction.† (source)
- Then came six subtly different values for her hull form block and prismatic coefficients.† (source)
- "It's a subtle problem," Augustus said.† (source)
- It was subtle, but it was there.† (source)
- For the Puller brothers this was not so subtle code.† (source)
- Every subtle detail had to be right.† (source)
- Her oceans and lakes are sick; her rivers are like running sores; The air is filled with subtle poisons.† (source)
- He seemed to look out on the world from on high with subtle bemusement, as if everything smaller people did was slightly funny.† (source)
- Subtly, I hoped.† (source)
- This ultimate public investiture had transported the three across a subtle boundary.† (source)
- "I never was very good at being subtle," he said, "so I will come right out and say it: ..."† (source)
- The gestures were complex and subtle, involving a delicacy of motion that has since been lost completely.† (source)
- Before I can worry too much for his safety, her face subtly changes.† (source)
- It started subtly, like a weird itch under my skin.† (source)
- I know what's subtle."† (source)
- Yet even the most subtle spiders may leave a weak thread.† (source)
- But Charles's suspicions had manifested themselves in a form visible yet subtle, and Aven's breath caught in her throat when she saw it.† (source)
- Aunt Emily's startle was so swift and subtle it barely registered.† (source)
- Flirted subtly.† (source)
- I want you more than anything in the world,' he repeated, with only a subtle change of expression.† (source)
- She waited on her without complaint, but she managed subtly to extract from her the price of her invalidism.† (source)
- He saw a simple, sincere face that was incapable of subtlety or guile, an honest, frank face with disunited large eyes, rusty hair, black eyebrows and an unfortunate reddish-brown mustache.† (source)
- His friendly manner, eagerness to walk unannounced into houses, subtlety with the local dialect, familiarity with classical Chinese and history, and enthusiastic interest in nu shu—something that he had not known existed—helped make my journey especially fruitful.† (source)
- The most subtle dusting of silver shone on her shoulders, her face, her hair.† (source)
- Affirmative action can be subtly woven into grading.† (source)
- As if he'd actually heard the subtle sound of Vlad's fingertips lightly brushing metal, D'Ablo stiffened, then turned to face them.† (source)
- That was his subtle way of telling me he wanted to be alone.† (source)
- It was harder to find, subtle.† (source)
- The time for subtlety had passed.† (source)
- Kamila asked without the slightest effort at subtlety.† (source)
- They were the subtle thinkers-would this be treachery?† (source)
- "Had I the powers, I could do you much good," he told Rush not very subtly, "but I am sure you will never give any man the necessary power."† (source)
- Even the sky overhead was subtly different than the one she was accustomed to farther downtown.† (source)
- All it took was an angry word or some insult, however slight, and the subtle differences in our characters vanished and you would have thought we were children of Beelzebub, unbound.† (source)
- The gangling graduate soon took on a Lincolnesque quality with subtle flashes of John Brown.† (source)
- The delicacy of her husband's manner, the subtlety of his mind How could I have understood so little?† (source)
- While she'd been away, her friends seemed to have subtly regrouped.† (source)
- Only on a night with an exceptional moon can the river rightfully claim its light or any other subtlety.† (source)
- The grounds remained subtly lighted, heavily layered with sheltering shadows.† (source)
- Something much more subtle, like that.† (source)
- That subtle answer connected some dots and provided a good starting point for this operation.† (source)
- The intermixture was subtle beyond Petra's grasp, but enough of it reached her to give her an unwonted, wide-eyed seriousness for some seconds as she looked up into the woman's eyes; as if she knew in some way, without understanding how or why, that this was one of the cardinal moments of her life.† (source)
- Sounis is not a subtle thinker, but he's not a fool either.† (source)
- While many wore foreign clothes, Max was more interested in subtler differences, such as their posture and facial expressions.† (source)
- No one would ever claim that God gave Dad the gift of subtlety or diplomacy, at least not when he feels strongly about something, and especially when he feels strongly about something that involves one of his children.† (source)
- Despite his posture and subtle vulnerability, he is unmistakably a warrior.† (source)
- …whether her spite, her sarcasm, the cowardly manner of delivering insults under the protection of a smile, were not the opposite of what he had always taken them to be-not a method of torture, but a twisted form of despair, not a desire to make him suffer, but a confession of her own pain, a defense for the pride of an unloved wife, a secret plea-so that the subtle, the hinted, the evasive in her manner, the thing begging to be understood, was not the open malice, but the hidden love.† (source)
- Those features, and many subtler ones, are the speech of the urban ghettos.† (source)
- Naturally there is a subtle difference ….† (source)
- But frontal assaults lacked subtlety and grace.† (source)
- A subtle change comes over Ann.† (source)
- His appreciation of growing things became more subtle, turned within a more limited spectrum and gradually Lalla's visits tapered away.† (source)
- Leave a subtle message.† (source)
- Focus on the personal, the "I" of the title, not the subtly sermonizing "We.† (source)
- She seemed to have the subtle power of inflection over them, the way a tongue can move air.† (source)
- I've already started (very subtly) working on my mom, and she seems sort of open to the whole thing.† (source)
- It was subtler than that.† (source)
- Her appearance had undergone subtle changes during the course of the years.† (source)
- She made a subtle sort of tucking-in move that caused his tap to glance off of her, and she bent to fit the hangers into the bureau drawer.† (source)
- This was apparently too subtle for the trolls.† (source)
- No. Not at all," he said, sounding as if he were telling a subtle joke.† (source)
- The boundaries between the mental activities of sense, perception, judgment, desire, choice, memory, and imagination elude the subtlest investigations and are a source of controversy.† (source)
- All the way home, that subtle difference nags at William Crook.† (source)
- A subtle difference, though, Wulfgar had to admit.† (source)
- This is a case, as with women's fashion, where the subtle, "surface" differences are actually the whole of the subject.† (source)
- I am most curious, General, as to your attitude toward a subtle subject: the inside straight.† (source)
- It had to be Judge Green's not-so-subtle method of applying pressure to Deacon.† (source)
- A cipher can be incredibly subtle, especially with help of a computer.† (source)
- Now he arrived with all the subtlety of a visiting head of state, a circle of bodyguards protecting him, Raphael wriggling in his grasp.† (source)
- She was still stroking Bloomberg, still succoring him, forcibly, into the subtle and difficult world outside warm afghans.† (source)
- I interpreted their interest as a subtle suggestion that they were hungry and thirsty after their long journey and would appreciate some tea and food.† (source)
- He still didn't say anything, but he smiled and exhaled a subtle laugh, holding out a closed fist.† (source)
- The stars gave off a special light, more subtle and luminous than moonlight.† (source)
- He wears a blue suit with the most subtle pinstripes.† (source)
- Her subtly shaped body was like a marble sculpture.† (source)
- It could very well have been, however, that my aunt did not take subtle enjoyment of her friend, but, a wild woman, kept rollicking company.† (source)
- Now if you're going to be subtle, well miss each other in the dark.† (source)
- Yet here the tone was subtly conniving.† (source)
- Karellen's senses were no subtler than Man's.† (source)
- more or less identical, or all pointing the same way subtly like a conjurer's deck, any odd one readily clear to a trained eye.† (source)
- One whose glory lay in its subtle magnanimity—a choice.† (source)
- The lights alter subtly; in the act of putting on her glasses ANNIE hears something that stops her with head lifted.† (source)
- He makes the best and most subtle martini in the world by a process approximating magic.† (source)
- There are, however, those among them who voice the dreamsong with particular subtlety and profundity, something like music, yet not, drawn from that timeless place in themselves where perhaps they look upon the infinite, then phrase it for their fellows.† (source)
- While I bullied him with subtle psychological torments, my mother took the direct approach and bullied him without finesse.† (source)
- Once more the subtle tyranny of the Congressman's image.† (source)
- He was looking, you see, for some human error in a scheme of almost superhuman subtlety.† (source)
- Isn't that subtle and witty!† (source)
- He felt subtly lonely and watched her carefully.† (source)
- He's your sort of person, a very good man, a very subtle mind, brilliant.† (source)
- Always he talked, his talking was his appearance, as if there were no eyes, nose, or mouth to remember; in his face there was every subtlety and eloquence, and no features, no kindness, for there was no awareness whatever of the present.† (source)
- It's not God who's gone subtle!† (source)
- It was a subtle touch.† (source)
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