different between subtle vs cryptic
subtle
English
Alternative forms
- subtil, subtile, suttle (all obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English sotil, soubtil, subtil, borrowed from Old French soutil, subtil, from Latin subt?lis (“fine, thin, slender, delicate”); probably, originally, “woven fine”, and from sub (“under”) + tela (“a web”), from texere (“to weave”). Displaced native Old English sm?ag.
Pronunciation
- enPR: s?t'(?)l, IPA(key): /?s?t(?)l/, [?s????]
- Rhymes: -?t?l
Adjective
subtle (comparative subtler or more subtle, superlative subtlest or most subtle)
- Hard to grasp; not obvious or easily understood; barely noticeable.
- Antonym: simple
- 1712, Richard Blackmore, Creation: A Philosophical Poem. Demonstrating the Existence and Providence of a God. In Seven Books, book I, London: Printed for S. Buckley, at the Dolphin in Little-Britain; and J[acob] Tonson, at Shakespear's Head over-against Catherine-Street in the Strand, OCLC 731619916; 5th edition, Dublin: Printed by S. Powell, for G. Risk, G. Ewing, and W. Smith, in Dame's-street, 1727, OCLC 728300884, page 7:
- The mighty Magnet from the Center darts / This ?trong, tho' ?ubtile Force, thro' all the Parts: / Its active Rays ejaculated thence, / Irradiate all the wide Circumference.
- (of a thing) Cleverly contrived.
- (of a person or animal) Cunning, skillful.
- Synonyms: crafty, cunning, skillful
- Insidious.
- Synonyms: deceptive, malicious
- 1623, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third, Act IV, scene 4:
- Thy age confirmed, proud, subtle, bloody, treacherous.
- Tenuous; rarefied; of low density or thin consistency.
- (obsolete) Refined; exquisite.
Derived terms
Translations
References
- subtle in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- subtle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “subtle”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN
Anagrams
- bluest, bluets, bustle, butles, sublet
subtle From the web:
- what subtle means
- whats subtle
- what does subtle
cryptic
English
Alternative forms
- cryptick (obsolete)
Etymology
From Late Latin crypticus, from Ancient Greek ????????? (kruptikós), from ??????? (kruptós, “hidden”), from ?????? (krúpt?, “to hide”). Compare cryptology.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?k??pt?k/
Adjective
cryptic (comparative more cryptic, superlative most cryptic)
- Having hidden meaning.
- Mystified or of an obscure nature.
- Involving use of a code or cipher.
- Of a crossword, or a clue in such a crossword, using, in addition to definitions, wordplay such as anagrams, homophones and hidden words to indicate solutions.
- (zoology) Well camouflaged; having good camouflage.
- (zoology) Serving as camouflage.
- (biology, not comparable) Apparently identical, but actually genetically distinct.
- (zoology) Living in a cavity or small cave.
- Synonym: (less common) cryptozoic
- 1999, Rachel Wood, Reef Evolution, p. 95:
- Much of the Permian Capitan reef was strongly differentiated into open surface and cryptic communities.
Translations
Noun
cryptic (plural cryptics)
- (informal) A cryptic crossword.
- 2009, Bill Taylor, Building a crossword (in Toronto Star, 1 February 2009)
- This writer has been solving cryptics for 40 years and can usually crack Araucaria, though it might take a couple of days.
- 2009, Bill Taylor, Building a crossword (in Toronto Star, 1 February 2009)
Derived terms
- cryptically
- cryptogram
cryptic From the web:
- what cryptic means
- what cryptic pregnancy
- what cryptic species means
- what's cryptic coloration
- what cryptic plasmid
- what cryptic means in spanish
- cryptic what am i questions
- cryptic what am i
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