Synonyms of subtlety

subtlety

noun

ˈsə-tᵊl-tē 

as in cunning

skill in achieving one's ends through indirect, subtle, or underhanded means

we appreciated the subtlety with which our host indicated that it was time to leave: he volunteered to pack us a little lunch for the road

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cunning
• artfulness
• subtleness
• slyness
• guile
• deviousness
• slickness
• sneakiness
• canniness
• ease
• cunningness
• craft
• craftiness
• wiliness
• artifice
• calculation
• caginess
• inventiveness
• cageyness
• cleverness
• shrewdness
• finesse
• foxiness
• design
• care
• ingenuity
• guilefulness
• savvy
• ingeniousness
• sharpness
• duplicity
• facility
• shiftiness
• underhandedness
• deceitfulness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of subtlety

The subtlety of Porcelain War, which premiered in the U.S. in November, helps the film avoid that risk. —Simon Shuster, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025

The theatrical approach was a fresh one for the Super Bowl halftime show — and a choice that saved the set from crumbling under the weight of its own subtlety. —Kyle Denis, Billboard, 12 Feb. 2025

These later scenes of power struggle suffer from some unevenness compared to their earlier counterparts, which capture the subtleties of social maneuvering better than most. —Natalia Winkelman, IndieWire, 28 Jan. 2025

By having numerous ways to refer to variations and subtleties of snow, overall thinking processes regarding snow are seemingly more in-depth. —Lance Eliot, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024