Synonyms for subtlety
Most common
cleverness acumen astuteness perspicacity nuance nicety artifice finesse
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Cleverness — the quality of being subtle. The quality of being able to notice or understand things that are not obvious.…
cleverness, acumen, astuteness, perspicacity, shrewdness, acuteness, perceptiveness, penetration, sharpness, sagacity, discernment, keenness
2. Nuance — an instance of being subtle, a subtle thing, especially a subtle argument or distinction
3. Artifice — the quality of being clever in surreptitious or deceitful behaviour; an act or argument that shows this…
artifice, cunning, craftiness, guile, trickery, craft, art, deceitfulness, artfulness, slyness, chicanery, wile, wiliness, foxiness
4. Finesse — the quality of being subtle. The quality of being able to achieve one's aims through clever, delicate or…
Other
niceness, deception, illusion, quibble, rarity, subtleness, penetrancy, piercingness, delicacy, subtilism dated
Definitions
- n. 1
The quality of being subtle. The quality of being able to achieve one's aims through clever, delicate or indirect methods. (of people)
With all his usual subtlety, he quietly fixed the problem before anyone else noticed it.
- n. 2
The quality of being subtle. The quality of being able to notice or understand things that are not obvious. (of people)
- n. 3
An instance of being subtle, a subtle thing, especially a subtle argument or distinction.
The subtleties of this overture are often overlooked.
- n. 4
The quality of being clever in surreptitious or deceitful behaviour; an act or argument that shows this quality.
Forms
- Plural
- subtleties → clevernesses, acumens, astutenesses, perspicacities…
Example sentences
- acumen It is obvious to me that he has no political acumen at all.
- cleverness Granted his cleverness, he may still be mistaken.
- perspicacity I trust in his perspicacity.
- nuance All nuance is removed when you live online.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| subtlety | steady | |
| acumen | steady | |
| cleverness | rising | |
| astuteness | steady | |
| perspicacity | falling | |
| nuance | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- art1
- 4 letters
- wile1
- 5 letters
- craft1, shade1, guile1
- 6 letters
- rarity3, nuance2, acumen3, nicety3
- 7 letters
- cunning2, finesse2, quibble2, slyness2
- 8 letters
- illusion3, delicacy4, trickery3, artifice3, niceness2, keenness, sagacity, wiliness, foxiness
- 9 letters
- deception3, sharpness2, chicanery4, acuteness3, subtilism
- 10 letters
- discretion3, refinement3, cleverness3, shrewdness2, craftiness, astuteness3, artfulness, subtleness, penetrancy
- 11 letters
- penetration4, discernment3
- 12 letters
- perspicacity, piercingness
- 13 letters
- deceitfulness
- 14 letters
- perceptiveness
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (rarity3 = 3 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- subtilité
- Italiano
- sottigliezza
- Español
- sutileza