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1. WordNet® 3.0 (2006)
delicate
    adj 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"
           [ant: rugged]
    2: marked by great skill especially in meticulous technique; "a
       surgeon's delicate touch"
    3: easily broken or damaged or destroyed; "a kite too delicate
       to fly safely"; "fragile porcelain plates"; "fragile old
       bones"; "a frail craft" [syn: delicate, fragile, frail]
    4: easily hurt; "soft hands"; "a baby's delicate skin" [syn:
       delicate, soft]
    5: developed with extreme delicacy and subtlety; "the satire
       touches with finespun ridicule every kind of human pretense"
       [syn: finespun, delicate]
    6: difficult to handle; requiring great tact; "delicate
       negotiations with the big powers";"hesitates to be explicit
       on so ticklish a matter"; "a touchy subject" [syn:
       delicate, ticklish, touchy]
    7: of an instrument or device; capable of registering minute
       differences or changes precisely; "almost undetectable with
       even the most delicate instruments"

2. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Delicate \Del"i*cate\, n.
   1. A choice dainty; a delicacy. [R.]
      [1913 Webster]

            With abstinence all delicates he sees. --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person.
      [1913 Webster]

            All the vessels, then, which our delicates have, --
            those I mean that would seem to be more fine in
            their houses than their neighbors, -- are only of
            the Corinth metal.                    --Holland.
      [1913 Webster]

3. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Delicate \Del"i*cate\, a. [L. delicatus pleasing the senses,
   voluptuous, soft and tender; akin to deliciae delight: cf. F.
   d['e]licat. See Delight.]
   1. Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring.
      [R.]
      [1913 Webster]

            Dives, for his delicate life, to the devil went.
                                                  --Piers
                                                  Plowman.
      [1913 Webster]

            Haarlem is a very delicate town.      --Evelyn.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Pleasing to the senses; refinedly agreeable; hence,
      adapted to please a nice or cultivated taste; nice; fine;
      elegant; as, a delicate dish; delicate flavor.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful; as, "a delicate
      creature." --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. Fine or slender; minute; not coarse; -- said of a thread,
      or the like; as, delicate cotton.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. Slight or smooth; light and yielding; -- said of texture;
      as, delicate lace or silk.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. Soft and fair; -- said of the skin or a surface; as, a
      delicate cheek; a delicate complexion.
      [1913 Webster]

   7. Light, or softly tinted; -- said of a color; as, a
      delicate blue.
      [1913 Webster]

   8. Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend;
      considerate; -- said of manners, conduct, or feelings; as,
      delicate behavior; delicate attentions; delicate
      thoughtfulness.
      [1913 Webster]

   9. Tender; not able to endure hardship; feeble; frail;
      effeminate; -- said of constitution, health, etc.; as, a
      delicate child; delicate health.
      [1913 Webster]

            A delicate and tender prince.         --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   10. Requiring careful handling; not to be rudely or hastily
       dealt with; nice; critical; as, a delicate subject or
       question.
       [1913 Webster]

             There are some things too delicate and too sacred
             to be handled rudely without injury to truth. --F.
                                                  W. Robertson.
       [1913 Webster]

   11. Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
       [1913 Webster]

   12. Nicely discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical;
       sensitive; exquisite; as, a delicate taste; a delicate
       ear for music.
       [1913 Webster]

   13. Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes; as, a
       delicate thermometer.
       [1913 Webster]

Thesaurus Results for Delicate:

1. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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
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