delicate
IPA: dˈɛɫʌkʌt
noun
- A delicate item of clothing, especially underwear or lingerie.
- (obsolete) A choice dainty; a delicacy.
- (obsolete) A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person.
- A moth, Mythimna vitellina
adjective
- Easily damaged or requiring careful handling.
- Characterized by a fine structure or thin lines.
- Intended for use with fragile items.
- Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; said of manners, conduct, or feelings.
- Of weak health; easily sick; unable to endure hardship.
- (informal) Unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol.
- (obsolete) Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring.
- circa''' 1660, John Evelyn (author), William Bray (editor), The Diary of John Evelyn, volume I of II (1901), entry for the 19th of August in 1641, page 29:
- Pleasing to the senses; refined; adapted to please an elegant or cultivated taste.
- Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful.
- Light, or softly tinted; said of a colour.
- Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
- Highly discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite.
- Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes.
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Examples of "delicate" in Sentences
- The drawing is delicate and precise.
- But to be delicate seems akin to intemperance.
- Its oaken case is delicately carved and traceried.
- The skull protects the delicate tissues of the brain.
- At the onset, the dance is delicate and the music legato.
- Even more delicate was the question of the Chinese Rites.
- The one drawback are the four delicate plastic joysticks.
- In her view, love is not delicate, but beggarly and harsh.
- One delicate issue is the union and the attempts of union.
- Hands fingers and fingernails of the sculpture are delicately modeled.
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