delicate

SayDEL-i-kit/ˈdɛl.ɪ.kɪt/AUS/ˈdel.ɪ.kɪt/UKDEL-i-kuht/ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/

17 meanings of delicate

1
adjective
Easily damaged or harmed, and requiring careful handling to stay intact.
Restorers handle the delicate manuscripts with gloved hands and soft brushes.
The surgeon worked slowly on the delicate tissue surrounding the nerve.
Similarfragile, frail, breakable, sensitive
Oppositesturdy, robust, tough, durable
Note
Fragility is where the modern word settled, but its Latin ancestor dēlicātus meant first "giving pleasure, delightful", then "soft, luxurious", from dēliciae, "delights". What pampers came to mean what must be pampered. The sense stretches easily from lace to situations, since delicate negotiations need careful handling too. An older comparative, delicater, survives beside more delicate: Julian Hawthorne writes of frost-lace "delicater than Valenciennes" in 1903.
2
adjective
Refined and considerate in manner, careful not to offend or intrude on others' feelings.
Her delicate handling of the grieving family showed real tact.
He raised the awkward subject in a delicate, roundabout way.
Similartactful, diplomatic, sensitive, discreet, considerate
Oppositetactless, blunt, insensitive
3
adjective
Made up of fine structures or thin lines, often intricate and finely detailed.
The lace showed a delicate tracery of looping threads.
Frost left a delicate filigree across the windowpane.
Similarfine, intricate, dainty, exquisite
Oppositecoarse, crude
4
adjective
Pleasing to the senses in a subtle, refined way that appeals to cultivated taste.
The wine had a delicate bouquet of pear and almond.
Critics praised the dish for its delicate balance of flavors.
Similarsubtle, refined, exquisite, fine, light
Oppositestrong, overpowering, coarse
5
adjective
Highly discriminating and perceptive; able to detect fine distinctions that coarser judgment would overlook.
Her delicate palate distinguished vintages that others found identical.
A delicate critical sense let him spot the flaw in the argument.
Similardiscerning, discriminating, sensitive, refined, perceptive
Oppositecoarse, crude
Note
Here the delicacy belongs to the one who perceives, as in a delicate taste or a delicate ear for music. The phrase praises a faculty that catches fine differences. Keep it apart from the fastidious meaning, which describes someone hard to please: a delicate ear notices more, while a delicate eater merely accepts less. With food, a delicate taste names the diner's palate, while a delicate flavor belongs to the dish.
6
adjective
In weak health, easily falling ill and unable to withstand hardship or strain.
Her delicate constitution kept her indoors through the harsh winter.
The doctor warned that the delicate patient could not survive another fever.
Similarfrail, sickly, weak, fragile, infirm
Oppositerobust, healthy, strong, hardy
7
adjective
Responsive to very slight causes, registering small changes that coarser things would not detect.
The delicate barometer registered the faint drop in pressure.
A delicate equilibrium between supply and demand can shift with the smallest news.
Similarsensitive, precise, fine
Oppositeinsensitive, crude
Note
Instruments carry the word in a sense that is easy to misread. A delicate thermometer responds to tiny changes in temperature, but the phrase can also be read as one that breaks easily. When fragility might be understood, sensitive is the clearer choice. With balances and equilibria, delicate usefully keeps the idea that the slightest push will show.
8
adjective
Slight and shapely in build, possessing a graceful, refined loveliness of form.
Her delicate features gave her face a quiet grace.
The sculptor captured the delicate curve of the figure's neck.
Similardainty, fine, graceful, slender, elegant
Oppositecoarse, heavy
Note
Shakespeare's Cassio calls Desdemona "a most fresh and delicate creature", and the compliment is about grace of form, not frailty. The Medieval Latin sense "fine, slender" stands directly behind it. In current use it settles comfortably on features and contours, such as a delicate face or the curve of a neck. It remains praise, unlike frail or slight, which hint at weakness.
9
adjective
Light and softly tinted, having a pale, understated hue rather than a bold one.
The artist favored delicate pastels over vivid primaries.
Dawn washed the hills in delicate shades of rose and lilac.
Similarsoft, pale, subtle, muted, light
Oppositebold, vivid, bright, garish
10
adjective
Having exacting tastes and habits; dainty and fastidious, and hard to satisfy.
A delicate eater, she pushed aside any dish that wasn't prepared just so.
He proved too delicate for camp life, complaining about every meal and every bed.
Similarfussy, fastidious, finicky, particular, picky
Oppositeundemanding

11
adjective
Designed for use with fragile or easily damaged items, such as fine fabrics.
Select the delicate cycle to protect your silk blouses.
These detergent pods are formulated for delicate loads like lingerie and lace.
Similargentle
12
nouncountable
An item of fine clothing, especially underwear or lingerie, that requires careful handling.
He set aside one delicate to wash separately from the towels.
The dryer's heat had ruined several of her delicates.
Note
Laundry vocabulary, most often met in the plural delicates: the lace, silk and underwear washed apart from jeans and towels. The singular turns up in warnings like "it's a delicate!" It is the noun partner of the delicate cycle, and the two travel together in the same household talk about washing.
13
adjectivecolloquial
Feeling unwell or fragile, especially as a result of having drunk too much alcohol.
She was looking rather delicate after the wedding reception.
Don't shout. He's feeling delicate after last night.
Similarfragile, queasy, unwell, rough, hungover
Note
A tactful way of admitting a hangover: the word for frail health borrowed for one bad morning. It usually follows feeling and comes softened, as in a bit delicate or rather delicate. It belongs to conversation and carries a wry, understated edge that a blunt "I'm hungover" lacks.
14
nouncountable
A migratory noctuid moth, Mythimna vitellina, with pale, straw-colored forewings.
A delicate fluttered around the porch light during the warm August night.
Several delicates turned up in the moth trap after the southerly winds.
15
adjectiveobsolete
Given over to pleasure; luxurious, voluptuous, and alluring.
This [Haarlem] is a very delicate towne, and hath one of the fairest Churches, of the Gotiq design, I had seene.
1641, John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 19 August 1641]”
Note
This sense stays closest to the word's Latin source, dēlicātus, "giving pleasure, delightful, luxurious," from dēliciae, "delight," and ultimately a verb meaning "I allure." John Evelyn's diary of 1641 still calls Haarlem "a very delicate towne," meaning a pleasant, agreeable place. The usage is now obsolete, and modern readers would hear the "pleasing to the senses" meaning instead. Recognize it in older texts rather than use it.
16
nounobsolete
A choice morsel; a fine or luxurious item of food.
The feast offered rare delicates brought from distant lands.
With Abstinence all Delicates he Sees, / And can regale himself with Toast and Cheese.
1712, William King, The Art of Cookery
Note
A food word that has dropped out of use, its place taken by delicacy. William King's The Art of Cookery (1712) uses it in a couplet: the abstinent man sees "all Delicates" yet regales himself with toast and cheese. When delicates turns up in older texts, expect fine dishes, not fragile laundry.
17
nounobsolete
A person given to luxury, softness, or pleasure; one of refined or effeminate habits.
The delicate lounged among silk cushions while everyone else toiled.
If Lucullus were not a waster and a delicate given to belly-cheare.
1603, Plutarch, The Philosophie
Note
A term of disapproval for the pampered, now obsolete. Philemon Holland's 1603 Plutarch calls Lucullus "a waster and a delicate given to belly-cheare", pairing softness with gluttony. The Log Book of 1830 turns it ironic, with "the delicates" convening in the great cabin. In older plural use, context decides whether the word means people or dainty foods.

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Middle English "delicat," from Latin "dēlicātus" (giving pleasure, delightful, soft, luxurious, delicate), from "dēlicia" (pleasure, delight, luxury). That in turn came from "dēliciō" (I allure, entice), built from "dē-" (away) plus "laciō" (I lure, deceive), of ultimately unknown origin. It is related to "delight" and "delicious," and to Spanish "delgado" (thin, skinny).