delicate

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: del=i=cate
• COUNT in NET: 3 in 3 verses (in OT : 3 in 3 verses)

OXFORD DICTIONARY

delicate, adj.
1 a fine in texture or structure; soft, slender, or slight. b of exquisite quality or workmanship. c (of colour) subtle or subdued; not bright. d subtle, hard to appreciate.
2 (of a person) easily injured; susceptible to illness.
3 a requiring careful handling; tricky (a delicate situation). b (of an instrument) highly sensitive.
4 deft (a delicate touch).
5 (of a person) avoiding the immodest or offensive.
6 (esp. of actions) considerate.
7 (of food) dainty; suitable for an invalid.

Idiom

in a delicate condition archaic pregnant.

Derivative

delicately adv. delicateness n.

Etymology

ME f. OF delicat or L delicatus, of unkn. orig.

THESAURUS

delicate

Herculean, Victorian, abstruse, accommodating, accommodative, accurate, adept, aerial, agreeable, airy, allergic, ambrosial, anaphylactic, appreciative, arduous, attentive, attenuate, attenuated, balmy, becoming, boyish, breakable, brittle, brittle as glass, brutal, careful, cautious, cheap-jack, civilized, close, cobwebby, complaisant, complex, conscientious, considerate, constant, correct, coy, crackable, creamy, crisp, crispy, critical, crumbly, crushable, cultivated, cultured, cunning, cute, dainty, dangerous, debilitated, decent, decorous, decrepit, delectable, delicat, delicately weak, delicious, delightful, demanding, demure, detailed, diaphanous, differential, difficile, difficult, diluted, diplomatic, direct, discerning, discreet, discriminate, discriminating, discriminative, distinctive, distinguishing, downy, easy, effeminate, eggshell, elegant, emotionable, empathetic, empathic, enfeebled, ethereal, even, exact, exacting, exigent, expert, express, exquisite, faint, faithful, fastidious, feeble, filmy, fine, fine-drawn, fine-grained, finespun, finical, finicking, finicky, fissile, flat, flimsy, fluffy, foresighted, formidable, fracturable, fragile, frail, frangible, friable, fussy, fuzzy, gauzy, gentle, gimcrack, gimcracky, girlish, gloss, good, good to eat, good-tasting, goosy, gossamer, gossamery, graceful, gracile, gracious, gradual, gustable, gusty, hair-trigger, hairline, hairsplitting, hairy, hard, hard-earned, hard-fought, heedful, helpful, hyperesthetic, hyperpathic, hypersensitive, impressionable, indulgent, inerrable, inerrant, infallible, infirm, insubstantial, intricate, iridescent, irritable, itchy, jawbreaking, jerry, jerry-built, juicy, knotted, knotty, laborious, lacerable, lacy, lenient, light, lightweight, likable, luscious, lush, masterly, mathematical, mean, mellow, mellowy, meticulous, micrometrically precise, microscopic, mignon, mild, mindful, mindful of others, minute, misty, modest, mollified, mother-of-pearl, muted, nacreous, namby-pamby, narrow, nervous, nice, no picnic, nonresistive, nonrigid, not easy, obliging, of gourmet quality, on slippery ground, on thin ice, opalescent, operose, overrefined, oversensible, oversensitive, overtender, palatable, pale, papery, particular, passible, pasteboardy, pastel, patinaed, pearly, perceptive, perishable, persnickety, pinpoint, pleasing, polished, politic, precarious, precise, precisianistic, precisionistic, prickly, proficient, proper, prudent, prudish, pubescent, punctilious, punctual, puny, puristic, queasy, quiet, rare, rarefied, receptive, recherche, refined, regardful, religious, religiously exact, responsive, rigid, rigorous, rough, rugged, sad, sapid, satin, satiny, savorous, savory, scientific, scientifically exact, scissile, scrumptious, scrupulous, scrutinizing, seemly, select, selective, semigloss, sensible, sensitive, set with thorns, severe, shatterable, shattery, shivery, sickly, silky, simple, sissified, skittish, sleazy, slender, slenderish, slight, slight-made, slim, slimmish, slinky, slippery, slippy, small, smooth, sober, soft, soft as putty, soft-colored, soft-hued, softened, softhearted, solicitous, somber, sophisticated, spiny, splintery, square, squeamish, steep, sticky, strenuous, strict, subdued, subtile, subtle, succulent, superior, supersensitive, susceptible, svelte, sweet, sylphlike, sympathetic, tacky, tactful, tactical, tasty, tender, tenderhearted, tenuous, tetchy, thin, thin-bodied, thin-set, thin-skinned, thin-spun, thinnish, thorny, thoughtful, threadlike, ticklish, toilsome, tolerant, toothsome, touch-and-go, touchy, tough, tricky, uncertain, undeviating, unerring, unhealthy, unpredictable, unsubstantial, uphill, vague, velutinous, velvety, volatile, vulnerable, warmhearted, wary, wasp-waisted, watered, watered-down, watery, weak, weakened, whisper-soft, wicked, willowy, wiredrawn, wispy, womanish, yummy

ROGET THESAURUS

delicate

Difficulty

N difficulty, hardness, impracticability, tough work, hard work, uphill work, hard task, Herculean task, Augean task, task of Sisyphus, Sisyphean labor, tough job, teaser, rasper, dead lift, dilemma, embarrassment, deadlock, perplexity, intricacy, entanglement, complexity, cross fire, awkwardness, delicacy, ticklish card to play, knot, Gordian knot, dignus vindice nodus, net, meshes, maze, coil, crooked path, involvement, nice point, delicate point, subtle point, knotty point, vexed question, vexata quaestio, poser, puzzle, paradox, hard nut to crack, nut to crack, bone to pick, crux, pons asinorum, where the shoe pinches, nonplus, quandary, strait, pass, pinch, pretty pass, stress, brunt, critical situation, crisis, trial, rub, emergency, exigency, scramble, scrape, hobble, slough, quagmire, hot water, hornet's nest, sea of troubles, peck of troubles, pretty kettle of fish, pickle, stew, imbroglio, mess, ado, false position, set fast, stand, standstill, deadlock, dead set, fix, horns of a dilemma, cul de sac, hitch, stumbling block, crab, curmudgeon, difficult, not easy, hard, tough, troublesome, toilsome, irksome, operose, laborious, onerous, arduous, Herculean, formidable, sooner said than done, more easily said than done, easier said than done, difficult to deal with, hard to deal with, ill-conditioned, crabbed, crabby, not to be handled with kid gloves, not made with rose water, awkward, unwieldy, unmanageable, intractable, stubborn, perverse, refractory, plaguy, trying, thorny, rugged, knotted, knotty, invious, pathless, trackless, labyrinthine, intricate, complicated, impracticable, not feasible, desperate, embarrassing, perplexing, delicate, ticklish, critical, beset with difficulties, full of difficulties, surrounded by difficulties, entangled by difficulties, encompassed with difficulties, under a difficulty, in a box, in difficulty, in hot water, in the suds, in a cleft stick, in a fix, in the wrong box, in a scrape, in deep water, in a fine pickle, in extremis, between two stools, between Scylla and Charybdis, surrounded by shoals, surrounded by breakers, surrounded by quicksands, at cross purposes, not out of the wood, reduced to straits, hard pressed, sorely pressed, run hard, pinched, put to it, straitened, hard up, hard put to it, hard set, put to one's shifts, puzzled, at a loss, at the end of one's tether, at the end of one's rope, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus, at a standstill, graveled, nonplused, nonplussed, stranded, aground, stuck fast, set fast, up a tree, at bay, aux abois, driven into a corner, driven from pillar to post, driven to extremity, driven to one's wit's end, driven to the wall, au bout de son Latin, out of one's depth, thrown out, accomplished with difficulty, hard-fought, hard-earned, with difficulty, with much ado, barely, hardly, uphill, against the stream, against the grain, d rebours, invita Minerva, in the teeth of, at a pinch, upon a pinch, at long odds, against long odds, ay there's the rub, hic labor hoc opus, things are come to a pretty pass, ab inconvenienti, ad astra per aspera, acun chemin de fleurs ne conduit a la gloire.

Purity

N purity, decency, decorum, delicacy, continence, chastity, honesty, virtue, modesty, shame, pudicity, pucelage, virginity, vestal, virgin, Joseph, Hippolytus, Lucretia, Diana, prude, pure, undefiled, modest, delicate, decent, decorous, virginibus puerisque, simon-pure, chaste, continent, virtuous, honest, Platonic, virgin, unsullied, cherry, as chaste as unsunn'd snow, a soul as white as heaven, 'tis Chastity, my brother, Chastity, to the pure all things are pure.

Pleasurableness

N pleasurableness, pleasantness, agreeableness, pleasure giving, jucundity, delectability, amusement, attraction, attractiveness, attractability, invitingness, harm, fascination, enchantment, witchery, seduction, winning ways, amenity, amiability, winsomeness, loveliness, sunny side, bright side, sweets, goodness, manna in the wilderness, land flowing with milk and honey, bittersweet, fair weather, treat, regale, dainty, titbit, tidbit, nuts, sauce piquante, causing pleasure, laetificant, pleasure-giving, pleasing, pleasant, pleasurable, agreeable, grateful, gratifying, leef, lief, acceptable, welcome, welcome as the roses in May, welcomed, favorite, to one's taste, to one's mind, to one's liking, satisfactory, refreshing, comfortable, cordial, genial, glad, gladsome, sweet, delectable, nice, dainty, delicate, delicious, dulcet, luscious, palatable, luxurious, voluptuous, sensual, attractive, inviting, prepossessing, engaging, winning, winsome, taking, fascinating, captivating, killing, seducing, seductive, heart-robbing, alluring, enticing, appetizing, cheering, bewitching, enchanting, entrancing, enravishing, charming, delightful, felicitous, exquisite, lovely, ravishing, rapturous, heartfelt, thrilling, ecstatic, beatic, beatific, seraphic, empyrean, elysian, palmy, halcyon, Saturnian, decies repetita placebit, charms strike the sight but merit wins the soul, sweetness and light, beauty is only skin deep.

Beauty

N beauty, the beautiful, to kalon, le beau ideal, aesthetics, callaesthetics, pulchritude, form, elegance, grace, beauty unadorned, natural beauty, symmetry, comeliness, fairness, polish, gloss, good effect, good looks, belle tournure, trigness, bloom, brilliancy, radiance, splendor, gorgeousness, magnificence, sublimity, sublimification, concinnity, delicacy, refinement, charm, je ne sais quoi, style, Venus, Aphrodite, Hebe, the Graces, Peri, Houri, Cupid, Apollo, Hyperion, Adonis, Antionous, Narcissus, peacock, butterfly, garden, flower of, pink of, bijou, jewel, work of art, flower, flow'ret gay, wildflower, rose, lily, anemone, asphodel, buttercup, crane's bill, daffodil, tulip, tiger lily, day lily, begonia, marigold, geranium, lily of the valley, ranunculus, rhododendron, windflower, pleasurableness, beautifying, landscaping, landscape gardening, decoration, calisthenics, beauty, hunk (of men), beautiful, beauteous, handsome, gorgeous, pretty, lovely, graceful, elegant, prepossessing, attractive, delicate, dainty, refined, fair, personable, comely, seemly, bonny, good-looking, well-favored, well-made, well-formed, well- proportioned, proper, shapely, symmetrical, harmonious, sightly, fit to be seen, passable, not amiss, goodly, dapper, tight, jimp, gimp, janty, jaunty, trig, natty, quaint, trim, tidy, neat, spruce, smart, tricksy, bright, bright eyed, rosy cheeked, cherry cheeked, rosy, ruddy, blooming, in full bloom, brilliant, shining, beamy, beaming, sparkling, splendid, resplendent, dazzling, glowing, glossy, sleek, rich, superb, magnificent, grand, fine, sublime, showy, specious, artistic, artistical, aesthetic, picturesque, pictorial, fait a peindre, well-composed, well grouped, well varied, curious, enchanting becoming, ornamental, undeformed, undefaced, unspotted, spotless, auxilium non leve vultus habet, beauty born of murmuring sound, flowers preach to us if we will hear, gratior ac pulchro veniens in corpore virtus, none but the brave deserve the fair, thou who hast the fatal gift of beauty.

Thinness

N narrowness, thinness, narrowness, closeness, exility, exiguity, line, hair's breadth, finger's breadth, strip, streak, vein, monolayer, epitaxial deposition, thinness, tenuity, emaciation, macilency, marcor, shaving, slip, thread paper, skeleton, shadow, anatomy, spindleshanks, lantern jaws, mere skin and bone, middle constriction, stricture, neck, waist, isthmus, wasp, hourglass, ridge, ghaut, ghat, pass, ravine, narrowing, coarctation, angustation, tapering, contraction, narrow, close, slender, thin, fine, thread-like, finespun, gossamer, paper-thin, taper, slim, slight-made, scant, scanty, spare, delicate, incapacious, contracted, unexpanded &c (expand), slender as a thread, emaciated, lean, meager, gaunt, macilent, lank, lanky, weedy, skinny, scrawny slinky, starved, starveling, herring gutted, worn to a shadow, lean as a rake, thin as a lath, thin as a whipping post, thin as a wafer, hatchet-faced, lantern-jawed, attenuated, shriveled, extenuated, tabid, marcid, barebone, rawboned, monomolecular.

Fastidiousness

N fastidiousness, nicety, hypercriticism, difficulty in being pleased, friandise, epicurism, omnia suspendens naso, epicure, gourmet, prudery, fastidious, nice, delicate, delicat, finical, finicky, demanding, meticulous, exacting, strict, anal, difficult, dainty, lickerish, squeamish, thin-skinned, squeasy, queasy, hard to please, difficult to please, querulous, particular, straitlaced, scrupulous, censorious, hypercritical, overcritical, noli me tangere.

Texture

N texture, structure (form), organization, anatomy, frame, mold, fabric, construction, framework, carcass, architecture, stratification, cleavage, substance, stuff, compages, parenchyma, constitution, staple, organism, organography, osteology, myology, splanchnology, neurology, angiography, adeology, angiography, adenography, texture, surface texture, intertexture, contexture, tissue, grain, web, surface, warp and woof, warp and weft, tooth, nap, flatness (smoothness), fineness of grain, coarseness of grain, dry goods, silk, satin, muslin, burlap, histology, structural, organic, anatomic, anatomical, textural, textile, fine grained, coarse grained, fine, delicate, subtile, gossamery, filmy, silky, satiny, coarse, homespun, rough, gritty, smooth, smooth as silk, smooth as satin.

Savoriness

N savoriness, good taste, deliciousness, delectability, relish, zest, appetizer, tidbit, titbit, dainty, delicacy, tasty morsel, appetizer, hors d'ouvres, ambrosia, nectar, bonne-bouche, game, turtle, venison, delicatessen, savory, delicious, tasty, well-tasted, to one's taste, good, palatable, nice, dainty, delectable, toothful, toothsome, gustful, appetizing, lickerish, delicate, exquisite, rich, luscious, ambrosial, scrumptious, delightful, per amusare la bocca, cela se laisse manger.

Color

N color, hue, tint, tinge, dye, complexion, shade, tincture, cast, livery, coloration, glow, flush, tone, key, pure color, positive color, primary color, primitive complementary color, three primaries, spectrum, chromatic dispersion, broken color, secondary color, tertiary color, local color, coloring, keeping, tone, value, aerial perspective, chromatics, spectrum analysis, spectroscopy, chromatism, chromatography, chromatology, prism, spectroscope, spectrograph, spectrometer, colorimeter (optical instruments), pigment, coloring matter, paint, dye, wash, distemper, stain, medium, mordant, oil paint, colored, colorific, tingent, tinctorial, chromatic, prismatic, full-colored, high-colored, deep-colored, doubly-dyed, polychromatic, chromatogenous, tingible, bright, vivid, intense, deep, fresh, unfaded, rich, gorgeous, gay, gaudy, florid, gay, garish, rainbow-colored, multihued, showy, flaunting, flashy, raw, crude, glaring, flaring, discordant, inharmonious, mellow, pastel, harmonious, pearly, sweet, delicate, tender, refined.

Truth

N truth, fact, reality, plain fact, plain matter of fact, nature, truth, verity, gospel, gospel truth, God's honest truth, orthodoxy, authenticity, veracity, correctness, correctitude, accuracy, exactitude, exactness, preciseness, precision, delicacy, rigor, mathematical precision, punctuality, clockwork precision, conformity to rule, nicety, orthology, ipsissima verba, realism, plain truth, honest truth, sober truth, naked truth, unalloyed truth, unqualified truth, stern truth, exact truth, intrinsic truth, nuda veritas, the very thing, not an illusion, real Simon Pure, unvarnished tale, unvarnished truth, the truth the whole truth and nothing but the trut, just the thing, real, actual, veritable, true, right, correct, certain, substantially true, categorically true, definitively true, true to the letter, true as gospel, unimpeachable, veracious, unreconfuted, unconfuted, unideal, unimagined, realistic, exact, accurate, definite, precise, well-defined, just, just so, so, strict, severe, close, literal, rigid, rigorous, scrupulous, religiously exact, punctual, mathematical, scientific, faithful, constant, unerring, curious, particular, nice, delicate, fine, clean-cut, clear-cut, verified, empirically true, experimentally verified, substantiated, proven (demonstrated), rigorously true, unquestionably true, true by definition, genuine, authentic, legitimate, orthodox, official, ex officio, pure, natural, sound, sterling, unsophisticated, unadulterated, unvarnished, unalloyed, uncolored, in its true colors, pukka, well-grounded, well founded, solid, substantial, tangible, valid, undistorted, undisguised, unaffected, unexaggerated, unromantic, unflattering, truly, verily, indeed, really, in reality, with truth, certainly, actually, in effect, exactly, ad amussim, verbatim, verbatim et literatim, word for word, literally, literatim, totidem vervis, sic, to the letter, chapter and verse, ipsissimis verbis, ad unguem, to an inch, to a nicety, to a hair, to a tittle, to a turn, to a T, au pied de la lettre, neither more nor less, in every respect, in all respects, sous tous les rapports, at any rate, at all events, strictly speaking, the truth is, the fact is, rem acu tetigisti, en suivant la verite, ex facto jus oritur, la verita e figlia del empo, locos y ninos dicen la verdad, crazy people and children tell the truth, nihil est veritatis luce dulcius, veritas nunquam perit, veritatem dies aperit, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, just the facts, ma'am, just the facts.