Delicate
['delɪkət] or [ˈdɛlɪkɪt]
Definition
(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'; 'a touchy subject' .
(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' .
Checker: Roland--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring.
(a.) Pleasing to the senses; refinedly agreeable; hence, adapted to please a nice or cultivated taste; nice; fine; elegant; as, a delicate dish; delicate flavor.
(a.) Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful; as, "a delicate creature."
(a.) Fine or slender; minute; not coarse; -- said of a thread, or the like; as, delicate cotton.
(a.) Slight or smooth; light and yielding; -- said of texture; as, delicate lace or silk.
(a.) Soft and fair; -- said of the skin or a surface; as, a delicate cheek; a delicate complexion.
(a.) Light, or softly tinted; -- said of a color; as, a delicate blue.
(a.) Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; -- said of manners, conduct, or feelings; as, delicate behavior; delicate attentions; delicate thoughtfulness.
(a.) Tender; not able to endure hardship; feeble; frail; effeminate; -- said of constitution, health, etc.; as, a delicate child; delicate health.
(a.) Requiring careful handling; not to be rudely or hastily dealt with; nice; critical; as, a delicate subject or question.
(a.) Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
(a.) Nicely discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite; as, a delicate taste; a delicate ear for music.
(a.) Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes; as, a delicate thermometer.
(n.) A choice dainty; a delicacy.
(n.) A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person.
Checked by Dolores
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Pleasant, pleasing, delicious, agreeable, savory, palatable.[2]. Fine, nice, elegant, exquisite.[3]. Tender, slender, weak.[4]. Discriminating, careful, scrupulous, fastidious, dainty, of nice perception.[5]. Refined, pure.
Editor: Rae
Synonyms and Antonyms
[See DELICACY_and_COARSE]
Typed by Gladys
Definition
adj. pleasing to the senses esp. the taste: dainty: nicely discriminating or perceptive: of a fine slight texture or constitution: tender: frail not robust: requiring nice handling: refined in manners: gentle polite considerate: luxurious.—n. Del′icacy state or quality of being delicate: refinement: nicety: tenderness weakness: luxuriousness: anything delicate or dainty.—adv. Del′icately in a delicate manner: (B.) luxuriously.—n. Del′icateness state of being delicate: (B.) delicacy luxury.—n.pl. Del′icates (B.) delicacies.
Inputed by Clara
Examples
- It was new and oh, so delicate in its luminous wonder and fear. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Have you no eyes, that you don't see how delicate and slender she is? Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Important witnesses; saw you in a delicate situation. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- That's Bentley Drummle, I replied; the one with the delicate face is Startop. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- It is impossible to do justice to all the delicate attentions I received from Lord Worcester during nearly three years. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- I am too fine for them--too delicate. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- There never was a more delicate man than Dodson, ma'am, or a more humane man than Fogg. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Hermione lifted it down with delicate slowness. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Allow me to offer you these violets, presenting a small bouquet between his delicate finger and thumb. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- The books are extant to this day, with the fair delicate superscription. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Her delicate organization and creative imagination rendered her peculiarly susceptible of pleasurable emotion. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- You are a beauty in my eyes, and a beauty just after the desire of my heart,--delicate and aerial. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- A very delicate blade devised for very delicate work. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- This device not only worked with great rapidity, but was extremely sensitive, and would respond to currents too weak to affect the most delicate electromagnetic relay. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- The massive but delicate coining presses coin from 80 to 100 pieces a minute. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Kitty is slight and delicate; and Mary studies so much, that her hours of repose should not be broken in on. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- From the delicate hair spring of a watch to the massive armor plate of a battleship, it finds endless applications, and is nature’s most enduring gift to man--abundant, cheap, and lasting. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- He was a most artistic and delicate writer, and Socrates could write nothing consecutive. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- She would like advice, but is not sure that the matter is not too delicate for communication. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- Felix was too delicate to accept this offer; yet he looked forward to the probability of that event as to the consummation of his happiness. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- He laughed more, as he kissed her delicate, finely perfumed hair. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- She constantly evinced these nice perceptions and delicate instincts. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- But he was afraid to say it, or anything else that might disturb the delicate balance of her trust in him. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- Not making the least account of the one with the delicate face, he returned, Bentley Drummle is his name, is it? Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- So, gentlemen, said he, you have attained your end and have certainly chosen a particularly delicate moment for your intrusion. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- May I ask you a delicate question? Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- In practice, and for measurements of a very delicate nature, the tasimeter is inserted in one arm of a Wheatstone bridge, as shown at A in the diagram (Fig. 2). Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- A fine rose, not deep but delicate, opens on her cheek. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- The ends of the balance staff are made very small so as to form very delicate pivots which turn in jewel bearings. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- That black-coated tyrant's niece--that quiet, delicate Miss Helstone. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
Inputed by Clara