subtlety

1. (uncountable) The quality of being subtle.Examples: "the subtlety of the Mona Lisa’s smile"; "[H]e had a lifetime of skill in interpreting his father's gestures: those bent knees meant that something of great subtlety was about to be revealed."countableuncountable

2. (uncountable) The quality of being subtle.Examples: "the subtlety of a writer’s analysis / of a singer’s phrasing"; "Something kinda sad about / The way that things have come to be / Desensitized to everything / What became of subtlety? / How can this mean anything to me / If I really don't feel anything at all?"Synonyms: refinementcountableuncountable

3. (uncountable) The quality of being subtle.Examples: "With all his usual subtlety, he quietly fixed the problem before anyone else noticed it."; "European women often boss their men too, but with a beguiling subtlety unknown to most American females."Synonyms: discretion, finesse, savoir-fairecountableuncountable

4. (uncountable) The quality of being subtle.Examples: "To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion."; "his subtilty in thinking and reasoning were profound,"Synonyms: acumen, perceptiveness, perspicacitycountableuncountable

5. (countable) An instance of being subtle, a subtle thing, especially a subtle argument or distinction.Examples: "The subtleties of this overture are often overlooked."; "1561, William Whittingham et al. (translators), Geneva Bible, Wisdom of Solomon 8.8, [S]he [Wisdom] knoweth the subtilties of wordes, and the solutions of darke sentences:"; "For I, and no doubt You, have long obſerved, that thoſe Dialectical ſubtleties, that the Schoolmen too often employ about Phyſiological Myſteries, are vvont much more to declare the vvit of him that uſes them, then increaſe the knovvledge or remove the doubts of ſober lovers of truth. And such captious ſubtleties do indeed often puzzle and ſometimes ſilence men, but rarely ſatisfy them."Synonyms: nicety, nuancecountable

6. (countable, historical) An ornate medieval illusion dish or table decoration, especially when made from one thing but crafted to look like another.Examples: "At the king's coronation feast, several subtleties were served between main courses."; "the seruice […] was sumpteous, with many subtleties, straunge deuises, with seuerall poses, and many deintie dishes."countablehistorical