delicate

[ del-i-kit ]

/ ˈdɛl ɪ kɪt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR delicate ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

fine in texture, quality, construction, etc.: a delicate lace collar.

fragile; easily damaged; frail: delicate porcelain; a delicate child.

so fine as to be scarcely perceptible; subtle: a delicate flavor.

soft or faint, as color: a delicate shade of pink.

fine or precise in action or execution; capable of responding to the slightest influence: a delicate instrument.

requiring great care, caution, or tact: a delicate international situation.

distinguishing subtle differences: a delicate eye; a delicate sense of smell.

exquisite or refined in perception or feeling; sensitive.

regardful of what is becoming, proper, etc.: a delicate sense of propriety.

mindful of or sensitive to the feelings of others: a delicate refusal.

dainty or choice, as food: delicate tidbits.

primly fastidious; squeamish: not a movie for the delicate viewer.

Obsolete. sensuous; voluptuous.

noun

Archaic. a choice food; delicacy.

Obsolete. a source of pleasure; luxury.

Origin of delicate

1325–75; Middle English delicat < Latin dēlicātus delightful, dainty; akin to delicious

SYNONYMS FOR delicate

2 tender, slight, weak.

5 exact, accurate.

6 critical, precarious.

7 discriminating, careful.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR delicate ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR delicate

1, 2 coarse.

3 hard, crude.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR delicate ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for delicate

1. Delicate, dainty, exquisite imply beauty such as belongs to rich surroundings or which needs careful treatment. Delicate, used of an object, suggests fragility, small size, and often very fine workmanship: a delicate piece of carving. Dainty, in concrete references, suggests a smallness, gracefulness, and beauty that forbid rough handling: a dainty handkerchief; of persons, it refers to fastidious sensibilities: dainty in eating habits. Exquisite suggests an outstanding beauty and elegance, or a discriminating sensitivity and ability to perceive fine distinctions: an exquisite sense of humor.

OTHER WORDS FROM delicate

del·i·cate·ly, adverb del·i·cate·ness, noun hy·per·del·i·cate, adjective hy·per·del·i·cate·ly, adverb

hy·per·del·i·cate·ness, noun non·del·i·cate, adjective non·del·i·cate·ly, adverb non·del·i·cate·ness, noun qua·si-del·i·cate, adjective qua·si-del·i·cate·ly, adverb su·per·del·i·cate, adjective su·per·del·i·cate·ly, adverb su·per·del·i·cate·ness, noun

Words nearby delicate

deliberate, deliberation, deliberative, delibes, delicacy, delicate, delicatessen, delicia, delicious, delict, delight

Example sentences from the Web for delicately

The cheery 69-year-old father of eight sits in the center with his wife and delicately brandishes a small, brown book.

The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway |Nina Strochlic |December 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
PANKISI GORGE, Georgia—The mother of martyrs, a woman in her fifties, is delicately beautiful and visibly in pain.

The Secret Life of an ISIS Warlord |Will Cathcart, Vazha Tavberidze, Nino Burchuladze |October 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
This deft, delicately wrought story is Murakami at his best.

Haruki Murakami's Weird, Wonderful World |Malcolm Jones |August 15, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I just found it depressingly tone deaf for a show that typically handles these sensitive issues so delicately.

‘Orange Is the New Black’: Inside the Wild S2 Finale and What’s Next for Season 3 |Kevin Fallon, Marlow Stern |July 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

He tops the concoction with a shot of bourbon and delicately spoons in a couple ice cubes.

The Rise and Fall…and Rise Again of the Old-Fashioned |Allison McNearney |June 14, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
A furnace-feeder would need to be delicately adjusted, and coal cannot be handled with delicacy.

The Idiot at Home |John Kendrick Bangs
Mavis fingered them delicately as if they were priceless treasures.

A Fortunate Term |Angela Brazil
Freddy has been affectionately taxed by his betrothed with having been instrumental in its despatch, but he has delicately denied.

Doctor Cupid |Rhoda Broughton
I heard her cross the room, her skirts rustling slightly, and then the faint clicking of some delicately adjusted mechanism.

My Lady of Doubt |Randall Parrish
This when she opened proved to contain a delicately chased little envelope opener, shaped like a tiny scimitar.

Brenda, Her School and Her Club |Helen Leah Reed

British Dictionary definitions for delicately

delicate

/ (ˈdɛlɪkɪt) /

adjective

exquisite, fine, or subtle in quality, character, construction, etc

having a soft or fragile beauty

(of colour, tone, taste, etc) pleasantly subtle, soft, or faint

easily damaged or injured; lacking robustness, esp in health; fragile

precise, skilled, or sensitive in action or operation a delicate mechanism

requiring tact and diplomacy

sensitive in feeling or manner; showing regard for the feelings of others

excessively refined; squeamish

noun

archaic a delicacy; dainty

Derived forms of delicate

delicately, adverb delicateness, noun

Word Origin for delicate

C14: from Latin dēlicātus affording pleasure, from dēliciae (pl) delight, pleasure; see delicious

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

delicate

adjective

noun

Origin of delicate

SYNONYMS FOR delicate

ANTONYMS FOR delicate

synonym study for delicate

OTHER WORDS FROM delicate

Words nearby delicate

Example sentences from the Web for delicately

British Dictionary definitions for delicately

adjective

noun

Derived forms of delicate

Word Origin for delicate

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

delicate

adjective

noun

Origin of delicate

SYNONYMS FOR delicate

ANTONYMS FOR delicate

synonym study for delicate

OTHER WORDS FROM delicate

Words nearby delicate

Words related to delicately

Example sentences from the Web for delicately

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adjective

noun

Derived forms of delicate

Word Origin for delicate

British Dictionary definitions for delicately