Dicts.info 

English dictionary

English word:    

delicate

View results from:   Wordnet   |   Webster   |   Wiktionary   |   Easton



delicate in WordNet English dictionary

adjective
  1. exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury
    "a delicate violin passage"; "delicate china"; "a delicate flavor"; "the delicate wing of a butterfly"
    delicate 
  2. easily broken or damaged or destroyed
    "a kite too delicate to fly safely"; "fragile porcelain plates"; "fragile old bones"; "a frail craft"
    delicate  fragile  frail 
  3. difficult to handle; requiring great tact
    "delicate negotiations with the big powers";"hesitates to be explicit on so ticklish a matter"; "a touchy subject"
    delicate  ticklish  touchy 
  4. developed with extreme delicacy and subtlety
    "the satire touches with finespun ridicule every kind of human pretense"
    finespun  delicate 
  5. of an instrument or device; capable of registering minute differences or changes precisely
    "almost undetectable with even the most delicate instruments"
    delicate 
  6. marked by great skill especially in meticulous technique
    "a surgeon's delicate touch"
    delicate 
  7. easily hurt
    "soft hands"; "a baby's delicate skin"
    delicate  soft 
WordNet Lexical Database v3.0, © 2006 Princeton University