What is another word for delicate?

Synonyms for delicate
ˈdɛl ɪ kɪtdel·i·cate

This thesaurus page includes all potential synonyms, words with the same meaning and similar terms for the word delicate.

Wiktionary2.3 / 4 votes

  1. delicateadjective

    Synonyms:
    fragile

English Synonyms and Antonyms3.5 / 2 votes

  1. delicate

    Fine (Latin finis, end) denotes that which has been brought to a full end, finished. From this root-sense many derived meanings branch out, causing words quite remote from each other to be alike synonyms of fine. That which is truly finished, brought to an ideal end, is excellent of its kind, and beautiful, if a thing that admits of beauty; as, a fine house, fine trees, a fine woman, a fine morning; if a thing that admits of the removal of impurities, it is not finished till these are removed, and hence fine signifies clarified, clear, pure, refined; as, fine gold. That which is finished is apt to be polished, smooth to the touch, minutely exact in outline; hence fine comes to be a synonym for all words like dainty, delicate, exquisite; as, fine manners, a fine touch, fine perceptions. As that which is delicate is apt to be small, by an easy extension of meaning fine becomes a synonym for slender, slight, minute, comminuted; as, a fine thread, fine sand; or for filmy, tenuous, thin; as, a fine lace, fine wire; and as a thin edge is keen, sharp, fine becomes also a synonym for these words; as, a fine point, a fine edge. Compare BEAUTIFUL; MINUTE.

    Synonyms:
    beautiful, clarified, clear, comminuted, dainty, elegant, excellent, exquisite, fine, gauzy, handsome, keen, minute, nice, polished, pure, refined, sensitive, sharp, slender, slight, small, smooth, splendid, subtile, subtle, tenuous, thin

    Antonyms:
    big, blunt, clumsy, coarse, great, heavy, huge, immense, large, rude, stout, thick

Princeton's WordNet5.0 / 3 votes

  1. delicateadjective

    exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury

    "a delicate violin passage"; "delicate china"; "a delicate flavor"; "the delicate wing of a butterfly"

    Synonyms:
    fragile, finespun, touchy, frail, soft, ticklish

    Antonyms:
    easy, unrefined, unbreakable, rugged, unskilled, toughened, knockabout, sturdy, insensitive, tough

  2. delicateadjective

    marked by great skill especially in meticulous technique

    "a surgeon's delicate touch"

    Synonyms:
    fragile, finespun, touchy, frail, soft, ticklish

    Antonyms:
    insensitive, knockabout, sturdy, unskilled, toughened, unrefined, tough, rugged, unbreakable, easy

  3. delicate, fragile, frailadjective

    easily broken or damaged or destroyed

    "a kite too delicate to fly safely"; "fragile porcelain plates"; "fragile old bones"; "a frail craft"

    Synonyms:
    slight, fallible, imperfect, tenuous, ticklish, soft, fragile, touchy, frail, thin, flimsy, weak, finespun

    Antonyms:
    unbreakable, tough, insensitive, rugged, unskilled, knockabout, unrefined, sturdy, easy, toughened

  4. delicate, softadjective

    easily hurt

    "soft hands"; "a baby's delicate skin"

    Synonyms:
    cushy, indulgent, mild, easy, piano, balmy, lenient, voiced, easygoing, soft, diffused, frail, flabby, subdued, diffuse, sonant, flaccid, ticklish, gentle, finespun, touchy, fragile

    Antonyms:
    tough, sturdy, unskilled, toughened, unbreakable, easy, knockabout, insensitive, unrefined, rugged

  5. finespun, delicateadjective

    developed with extreme delicacy and subtlety

    "the satire touches with finespun ridicule every kind of human pretense"

    Synonyms:
    ticklish, soft, fragile, touchy, frail, hairsplitting, finespun

    Antonyms:
    unbreakable, tough, sturdy, unrefined, rugged, easy, unskilled, knockabout, toughened, insensitive

  6. delicate, ticklish, touchyadjective

    difficult to handle; requiring great tact

    "delicate negotiations with the big powers";"hesitates to be explicit on so ticklish a matter"; "a touchy subject"

    Synonyms:
    feisty, ticklish, soft, fragile, touchy, frail, huffy, thin-skinned, finespun

    Antonyms:
    easy, toughened, unbreakable, insensitive, knockabout, sturdy, unskilled, rugged, tough, unrefined

  7. delicateadjective

    of an instrument or device; capable of registering minute differences or changes precisely

    "almost undetectable with even the most delicate instruments"

    Synonyms:
    fragile, finespun, touchy, frail, soft, ticklish

    Antonyms:
    unskilled, tough, toughened, rugged, knockabout, insensitive, unbreakable, unrefined, easy, sturdy

Editors Contribution0.0 / 0 votes

  1. improvise

    fast to break

    the vase is delicate

    Submitted by rinat on October 2, 2019  

Dictionary of English Synonymes0.0 / 0 votes

  1. delicateadjective

    Synonyms:
    pleasant, pleasing, delicious, agreeable, savory, palatable

  2. delicateadjective

    Synonyms:
    fine, nice, elegant, exquisite

  3. delicateadjective

    Synonyms:
    tender, slender, weak

  4. delicateadjective

    Synonyms:
    discriminating, careful, scrupulous, fastidious, dainty, of nice perception

  5. delicateadjective

    Synonyms:
    refined, pure

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words1.0 / 1 vote

  1. delicateadjective

    Synonyms:
    graceful, fine, exquisite, minute, slender, refined, sensitive, fastidious, dainty, critical, ticklish

    Antonyms:
    indelicate

How to pronounce delicate?

How to say delicate in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

rankingword
#350small
#621easy
#907clear
#1114fine
#1157nice
#1353excellent
#1397beautiful
#1928difficult
#1981minute
#2052soft
#3091sharp
#3337pure
#3763piano
#3826sensitive
#3880smooth
#4349thin
#4981weak
#6109elegant
#7474vulnerable
#7516slight
#8075gentle
#8164mild
#8685refined
#9217keen
#9513polished
#9840subtle
#11658delicate
#12059handsome
#13127exquisite
#14236fragile
#15458splendid
#15928tricky
#17452awkward
#19568diffuse
#19839clarified
#19918slender
#20779voiced
#21090imperfect
#30789subdued
#32523frail
#37328precarious
#41963indulgent
#42465dainty
#44059flimsy
#45074diffused
#45210touchy
#45589feisty
#47843tenuous
#48122ticklish
#48883thorny
#54137lenient
#62710huffy
#65132balmy
#71236easygoing
#77557flabby
#79791cushy
#80235fallible
#80713flaccid
#162538gauzy
#186190comminuted
#206784subtile

How to use delicate in a sentence?

  1. Jeremy Gauntlett:

    This is a delicate time in a dangerous year, it will be wrong if this court makes a ruling which may result in a call for impeachment.

  2. Andrew Hsu:

    It’s a problem we’ve been wrestling with for 20 years now, it’s a very delicate balance. We spend a lot of time essentially trying to determine whether a user has touched the surface or not.

  3. Vijaya Gadde:

    It's a very delicate balance to draw when you want to actually be in court, versus when you want to negotiate and try to make sure that the government understands the perspective that you're bringing, because I do think you can lose a lot of control when you end up in litigation.

  4. Masaaki Sano:

    One thing about the pufferfish is that it's not really just about the fish itself, it's about the skill of the chef who cuts it, the presentation… it's a delicate cuisine – that's the point.

  5. Rodger Baker:

    Rodger Baker, vice president of Strategic Analysis at Stratfor, told FoxNews.com. ‘ It’s actually a delicate situation. As the world is uncertain of what the U.S. will do with a new president coming in, China is looking to shape themselves in the next year or two as having a willingness to be a part of solutions.


Translations for delicate

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • دقيق او حساسArabic
  • delicatCatalan, Valencian
  • jemný, rozklepaný, choulostivýCzech
  • empfindlich, feinfühlig, empfindsam, anspruchsvoll, feingliedrig, zierlich, leicht, ausgesucht, sanft, erlesen, zart, angeschlagen, anfällig, hochempfindlich, köstlich, schwächlich, delikat, wählerisch, grazil, anmutig, filigranGerman
  • delikata, delikatsentaEsperanto
  • delicadoSpanish
  • herkkäFinnish
  • délicatFrench
  • leiceIrish
  • halusIndonesian
  • delikatNorwegian
  • delikatnyPolish
  • delicadoPortuguese
  • delicatRomanian
  • разбитый, деликатный, болезненный, хрупкий, изысканный, изящныйRussian
  • సున్నితమైనTelugu

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Translation

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"delicate." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/delicate>.

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    An antonym for "Prosperous"?
    A flourishing
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    C achromatic
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