subtly

UK/ˈsʌt.li/US/ˈsʌt.l̩.li/

adverbC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,093 of 15,258leans written

Subtly means in a way so slight it is easy to miss. Subtly different, subtly changed, put it subtly.

It is one of the most commonly misspelled adverbs in English, since the b is silent and the e of the adjective disappears. Subtly different is the standard phrase for a difference that matters more than it looks.

Definitions of subtly

1adverbsubtlyIn a way so slight it is easy to miss.C1
“She subtly changed the subject when he asked about her salary.”

subtly is a manner.

Where it comes from

From subtle plus -ly, from Latin subtilis, finely woven.

Middle English
sotilly
English, today
subtly

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

subtly in the wild

Lemon rind is commonly used as a garnish, with the citrus essential oils subtly complementing the flavour.
Pink gin
Gamelan surakarta is one of two subtly distinct styles of gamelan playing that have emerged in central Java since 1755.
Gamelan surakarta
Various non-Western styles also exist, many of which are substantially similar to these, but which twist each stitch, making for a subtly different-looking fabric.
English knitting
So we put up a mike and recorded the sound of my fingers while we were laying down the parts, and we used it subtly in the mix.
Secret Touch
About a month later, the title was subtly changed to Just After Sunset.
Just After Sunset

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

← Vocabulary