subtly

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subtly

/ˈsʌt.li/ UK
/ˈsʌ.tl̩.li/ UK
/ˈsʌt.l̩.li/ US
/ˈsʌt.li/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English sotilly; equivalent to subtle + -ly.

adverb more subtly · most subtly · subtlely · subtilly

With subtleness, in a subtle manner; with cleverness rather than brute force. Nexte cometh Arrius by ſoo muche the more wretched and madde in opynyon, by howe muche he dothe more ſubtely and craftily geue unto Chriſt the body of a man, and taketh from hym the ſowle of a man, […]

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: discreetly, delicately, finely, marginally, slightly, imperceptibly, unobtrusively, faintly, shrewdly, slyly, indirectly, understatedly, artfully, ingeniously, cleverly, deftly

Translations

Every language

adv with subtleness, in a subtle manner

Español	sutilmente
Português	sutilmente
Français	subtilement
Italiano	velatamente, sottilmente, subdolamente

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"subtly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/subtly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

subtly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/subtly

Chicago

"subtly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/subtly.

BibTeX

@misc{subtly_2026,
  title = {subtly},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/subtly},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}