delicate Hear it!

delicate Definition

deli·cate (del′i kit)

adjective

  1. pleasing in its lightness, mildness, subtlety, etc. a delicate flavor, odor, or color
  2. beautifully fine in texture, quality, or workmanship delicate linen, delicate skin
  3. slight and subtle a delicate difference
  4. easily damaged, spoiled, or disordered a delicate vase, a delicate stomach
  5. frail in health a delicate child
    1. needing careful handling, tact, etc. a delicate situation
    2. showing tact, consideration, etc.
  7. finely sensitive in feeling, understanding, discriminating, or responding a delicate ear for music, a delicate gauge
  8. finely skilled
  9. having or showing a sensitive or, sometimes, finicky distaste for what is considered offensive or improper

Etymology: ME delicat < L delicatus, giving pleasure, delightful < *delicare, for OL delicere, to allure, entice < de-, intens. + lacere: see delight

noun

Archaic a delicacy; dainty

Related Forms:

delicate Synonyms

delicate

modif.

  1. Dainty

    fragile, frail, fine; see dainty 1. See syn. study at dainty.

  2. Sickly

    susceptible, in delicate health, feeble; see sick, weak 1.

  3. Needing careful handling

    touchy, ticklish, sensitive, precarious; see dangerous 1, unstable 2.

  4. Having fine sensibilities

    gentle, tactful, sensitive, fastidious; see careful, refined 2, tactful.

delicate Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • feel: This easy angled slab ( for a scramble ) only has small holds and can feel a bit delicate at times.

Modifies a noun

  • flavor: It is a sublime cheese with a very delicate back flavor which is rare in a blue cheese.
  • balance: We are beginning to see the delicate balances built into creation.
  • aroma: Their 1992 Riesling is an elegant wine with a delicate fruity aroma.
  • lace: The luxurious soft silk of this cami is trimmed with delicate lace.
  • fragrance: Its new delicate fragrance, lightly powdery, will provide you with a true sense of well-being.
  • scent: Warm, still air will also enable you to enjoy those delicate scents that you might otherwise miss.

Modifying Another Word

  • extraordinarily: Grown as a shrub or against a sunny wall it produces extraordinarily delicate, yellow, waxy flowers with the exotic aroma of allspice!
  • beautifully: Finally the brittle skin is peeled away to reveal beautifully delicate markings and smoky blushes.
  • incredibly: Commenting on his work, Professor Aleksander said: " Consciousness is an incredibly delicate subject because it offends.
  • extremely: The aircraft are extremely delicate to weather, especially wind.
  • rather: Talking about having a good poke, any news on the rather delicate matter I asked you about?
  • very: A very delicate blade devised for very delicate work.

Used with adjective complement

  • look: The TIE Fighter may look delicate, but in actual fact it is quite robust and the wings clip on and off easily.
  • have: A tall hardy perennial, fennel has delicate, bright green foliage and yellow flowers.
  • produce: Grown as a shrub or against a sunny wall it produces extraordinarily delicate, yellow, waxy flowers with the exotic aroma of allspice!
  • feel: It's a beautiful, beautiful guitar, but, you know, it's been about and it feels quite delicate.
  • appear: While the valves appear very delicate, the collagen in their structure makes them enormously strong.

Preposition: in

  • extreme: Photographs show that they are delicate in the extreme with plenty of cross members exiting the hull.

Preposition: than

  • skin: The skin of the facial area is much more delicate than the skin covering the rest of the body.
delicate Quotes

Come lovelyand soothing death, Undulate round the world, serenely arriving, arriving, In the day, in the night, to all, to each, Sooner or later delicate death.

—Whitman,Walt(er)

To watch him fumbling with our rich and delicate English language is like seeing a Se'  vres vase in the hands of a chimpanzee.

—Waugh, Evelyn Arthur StJohn

I agree that our methods of control are unlikely to be sufficiently delicate or sufficiently powerful to maintain continuous full employment. I should be quite content with a reasonable approximation to it, and in practice I should probably relax my expansionist measures a little before technical full employment had actually been reached.

—Keynes (of Tilton),John Maynard, 1st Baron