different between subtle vs intrusive

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)

1. 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.

2. (of a thing) Cleverly contrived.
3. (of a person or animal) Cunning, skillful.

   Synonyms: crafty, cunning, skillful

4. Insidious.

   Synonyms: deceptive, malicious

   • 1623, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third, Act IV, scene 4:

     Thy age confirmed, proud, subtle, bloody, treacherous.

5. Tenuous; rarefied; of low density or thin consistency.
6. (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

English

Etymology

Back-formation from intrusion, +? -ive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?t?u?s?v/
• Hyphenation: in?tru?sive

Adjective

intrusive (comparative more intrusive, superlative most intrusive)

1. Tending to intrude; doing that which is not welcome; interrupting or disturbing; entering without permission or welcome.

   Did it ever cross your mind that he might find all those questions you ask intrusive?

2. (geology) Of rocks: forced, while in a plastic or molten state, into the cavities or between the cracks or layers of other rocks.

Synonyms

• unwelcome
• uninvited
• disturbing
• interrupting

Antonyms

• unintrusive

Derived terms

• intrusively
• intrusiveness

Translations

Noun

intrusive (plural intrusives)

1. (geology) An igneous rock that is forced, while molten, into cracks or between other layers of rock

References

• intrusive in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• intrusive in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

French

Adjective

intrusive

1. feminine singular of intrusif

German

Adjective

intrusive

1. inflection of intrusiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

intrusive

1. feminine plural of intrusivo

Anagrams

• risvenuti