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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of subtlety

Boeing may produce more specialized executives who grasp the subtleties of each industry by relieving management of the need for supervising several business lines. —Jim Osman, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2024

Sophia, played with precocious subtlety by newcomer Emily Matthews as alert and inquisitive, but struggling with her own complicated grief, demands constant attention from Grandmother. —Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2024

That a chatbot could understand the subtleties of humor and then convey them clearly in its own words was revelatory in Hinton’s view. —Paolo Confino, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2024

However, these types of comparative analyses failed because most of my students were not developed enough as writers to analyze the subtleties of meaning or evaluate style. —Victoria Livingstone, TIME, 30 Sep. 2024