About The Word Delicate

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Delicate

Delicate Meaning & Definition
Delicate Definition And Meaning

What's The Definition Of Delicate?

[adj] exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury; "a delicate violin passage"; "delicate china"; "a delicate flavor"; "the delicate wing of a butterfly"
[adj] easily broken or damaged or destroyed; "a kite too delicate to fly safely"; "fragile porcelain plates"; "fragile old bones"; "a frail craft"
[adj] difficult to handle; requiring great tact; "delicate negotiations with the big powers"; "hesitates to be explicit on so ticklish a matter"
[adj] developed with extreme delicacy and subtlety; "the satire touches with finespun ridicule every kind of human pretense"
[adj] of an instrument or device; capable of registering minute differences or changes precisely; "almost undetectable with even the most delicate instruments"
[adj] marked by great skill especially in meticulous technique; "a surgeon's delicate touch"
[adj] easily hurt; "soft hands"; "a baby's delicate skin"

Synonyms | Synonyms for Delicate: dainty | difficult | ethereal | exquisite | finespun | fragile | gossamer | half-hardy | hard | light-handed | overdelicate | pastel | refined | sensitive | skilled | soft | subtle | tender | ticklish | untoughened

Related Terms | Find terms related to Delicate: abstruse | accommodating | accommodative | accurate | adept | aerial | agreeable | airy | allergic | ambrosial | anaphylactic | appreciative | arduous | attentive | attenuate | attenuated | balmy | becoming | boyish | breakable | brittle | brittle as glass | brutal | careful | cautious | cheap-jack | civilized | close | cobwebby | complaisant | complex | conscientious | considerate | constant | correct | coy | crackable | creamy | crisp | crispy | critical | crumbly | crushable | cultivated | cultured | cunning | cute | dainty | dangerous | debilitated | decent | decorous | decrepit | delectable | delicat | delicately weak | delicious | delightful | demanding | demure | detailed | diaphanous | differential | difficile | difficult | diluted | diplomatic | direct | discerning | discreet | discriminate | discriminating | discriminative | distinctive | distinguishing | downy | easy | effeminate | eggshell | elegant | emotionable | empathetic | empathic | enfeebled | ethereal | even | exact | exacting | exigent | expert | express | exquisite | faint | faithful | fastidious | feeble | filmy | fine | fine-drawn | fine-grained | finespun | finical | finicking | finicky | fissile | flat | flimsy | fluffy | foresighted | formidable | fracturable | fragile | frail | frangible | friable | fussy | fuzzy | gauzy | gentle | gimcrack | gimcracky | girlish | gloss | good | good to eat | good-tasting | goosy | gossamer | gossamery | graceful | gracile | gracious | gradual | gustable | gusty | hairline | hairsplitting | hair-trigger | hairy | hard | hard-earned | hard-fought | heedful | helpful | Herculean | hyperesthetic | hyperpathic | hypersensitive | impressionable | indulgent | inerrable | inerrant | infallible | infirm | insubstantial | intricate | iridescent | irritable | itchy | jawbreaking | jerry | jerry-built | juicy | knotted | knotty | laborious | lacerable | lacy | lenient | light | lightweight | likable | luscious | lush | masterly | mathematical | mean | mellow | mellowy | meticulous | micrometrically precise | microscopic | mignon | mild | mindful | mindful of others | minute | misty | modest | mollified | mother-of-pearl | muted | nacreous | namby-pamby | narrow | nervous | nice | no picnic | nonresistive | nonrigid | not easy | obliging | of gourmet quality | on slippery ground | on thin ice | opalescent | operose | overrefined | oversensible | oversensitive | overtender | palatable | pale | papery | particular | passible | pasteboardy | pastel | patinaed | pearly | perceptive | perishable | persnickety | pinpoint | pleasing | polished | politic | precarious | precise | precisianistic | precisionistic | prickly | proficient | proper | prudent | prudish | pubescent | punctilious | punctual | puny | puristic | queasy | quiet | rare | rarefied | receptive | recherche | refined | regardful | religious | religiously exact | responsive | rigid | rigorous | rough | rugged | sad | sapid | satin | satiny | savorous | savory | scientific | scientifically exact | scissile | scrumptious | scrupulous | scrutinizing | seemly | select | selective | semigloss | sensible | sensitive | set with thorns | severe | shatterable | shattery | shivery | sickly | silky | simple | sissified | skittish | sleazy | slender | slenderish | slight | slight-made | slim | slimmish | slinky | slippery | slippy | small | smooth | sober | soft | soft as putty | soft-colored | softened | softhearted | soft-hued | solicitous | somber | sophisticated | spiny | splintery | square | squeamish | steep | sticky | strenuous | strict | subdued | subtile | subtle | succulent | superior | supersensitive | susceptible | svelte | sweet | sylphlike | sympathetic | tacky | tactful | tactical | tasty | tender | tenderhearted | tenuous | tetchy | thin | thin-bodied | thinnish | thin-set | thin-skinned | thin-spun | thorny | thoughtful | threadlike | ticklish | toilsome | tolerant | toothsome | touch-and-go | touchy | tough | tricky | uncertain | undeviating | unerring | unhealthy | unpredictable | unsubstantial | uphill | vague | velutinous | velvety | Victorian | volatile | vulnerable | warmhearted | wary | wasp-waisted | watered | watered-down | watery | weak | weakened | whisper-soft | wicked | willowy | wiredrawn | wispy | womanish | yummy

See Also | breakable | frail | weak

Delicate In Webster's Dictionary

\Del"i*cate\, a. [L. delicatus pleasing the senses, voluptuous, soft and tender; akin to deliciae delight: cf. F. d['e]licat. See {Delight}.] 1. Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring. [R.] Dives, for his delicate life, to the devil went. --Piers Plowman. Haarlem is a very delicate town. --Evelyn. 2. Pleasing to the senses; refinedly agreeable; hence, adapted to please a nice or cultivated taste; nice; fine; elegant; as, a delicate dish; delicate flavor. 3. Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful; as, ``a delicate creature.'' --Shak. 4. Fine or slender; minute; not coarse; -- said of a thread, or the like; as, delicate cotton. 5. Slight or smooth; light and yielding; -- said of texture; as, delicate lace or silk. 6. Soft and fair; -- said of the skin or a surface; as, a delicate cheek; a delicate complexion. 7. Light, or softly tinted; -- said of a color; as, a delicate blue. 8. Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; -- said of manners, conduct, or feelings; as, delicate behavior; delicate attentions; delicate thoughtfulness. 9. Tender; not able to endure hardship; feeble; frail; effeminate; -- said of constitution, health, etc.; as, a delicate child; delicate health. A delicate and tender prince. --Shak. 10. Requiring careful handling; not to be rudely or hastily dealt with; nice; critical; as, a delicate subject or question. There are some things too delicate and too sacred to be handled rudely without injury to truth. --F. W. Robertson. 11. Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious. 12. Nicely discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite; as, a delicate taste; a delicate ear for music. 13. Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes; as, a delicate thermometer.
\Del"i*cate\, n. 1. A choice dainty; a delicacy. [R.] With abstinence all delicates he sees. --Dryden. 2. A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person. All the vessels, then, which our delicates have, -- those I mean that would seem to be more fine in their houses than their neighbors, -- are only of the Corinth metal. --Holland.

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