different between subtle vs subordinate

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

From Middle English subordinat, from Medieval Latin sub?rdin?tus, past participle of sub?rdin?re, from sub- + ?rdin?re (“to order”).

Pronunciation

Adjective and Noun

• (UK) enPR: s?-bô?d?n-?t, IPA^(key): /s??b??d?n?t/
• (US) enPR: s?-bôr?d?n-?t, IPA^(key): /s??b??d?n?t/

Verb

• (UK) enPR: s?-bô?d?n-?t, IPA^(key): /s??b??d?ne?t/
• (US) enPR: s?-bôr?d?n-?t, IPA^(key): /s??b??d?ne?t/

Adjective

subordinate (comparative more subordinate, superlative most subordinate)

1. Placed in a lower class, rank, or position.
   • 1695, John Woodward, An Essay toward a Natural History of the Earth and Terrestrial Bodies, especially Minerals, &c

     The several kinds […] and subordinate species of each are easily known.

   Synonym: lesser

   Antonyms: superior, superordinate

2. Submissive or inferior to, or controlled by authority.
   • November 9, 1662, Robert South, Of the Creation of Man in the Image of God

     It was subordinate, not enslaved, to the understanding.

   Antonym: insubordinate

3. (grammar, of a clause, not comparable) dependent on and either modifying or complementing the main clause

   Synonym: dependent

   Antonyms: independent, main

4. Descending in a regular series.

Translations

Noun

subordinate (plural subordinates)

2. (countable) One who is subordinate.

   Synonyms: inferior, junior, report, underling, understrapper

   Antonyms: boss, commander, leader, manager, superior, supervisor

Translations

Verb

subordinate (third-person singular simple present subordinates, present participle subordinating, simple past and past participle subordinated)

1. (transitive) To make subservient.
2. (transitive) To treat as of less value or importance.

   Synonyms: belittle, denigrate

3. (transitive, finance) To make of lower priority in order of payment in bankruptcy.

Translations

See also

• inferior

Anagrams

• turbinadoes

Italian

Adjective

subordinate

1. feminine plural of subordinato

Verb

subordinate

1. second-person plural present indicative of subordinare
2. second-person plural imperative of subordinare
3. feminine plural past participle of subordinare

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /su.bo?r.di?na?.te/, [s??bo?rd???nä?t??]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /su.bor.di?na.te/, [sub?rd?i?n??t??]

Verb

sub?rdin?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of sub?rdin?