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Delicate   /dˈɛləkət/   Listen
adjective
Delicate  adj.  
1.
Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring. (R.) "Dives, for his delicate life, to the devil went." "Haarlem is a very delicate town."
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.
3.
Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful; as, "a delicate creature."
4.
Fine or slender; minute; not coarse; said of a thread, or the like; as, delicate cotton.
5.
Slight or smooth; light and yielding; said of texture; as, delicate lace or silk.
6.
Soft and fair; said of the skin or a surface; as, a delicate cheek; a delicate complexion.
7.
Light, or softly tinted; said of a color; as, a delicate blue.
8.
Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; said of manners, conduct, or feelings; as, delicate behavior; delicate attentions; delicate thoughtfulness.
9.
Tender; not able to endure hardship; feeble; frail; effeminate; said of constitution, health, etc.; as, a delicate child; delicate health. "A delicate and tender prince."
10.
Requiring careful handling; not to be rudely or hastily dealt with; nice; critical; as, a delicate subject or question. "There are some things too delicate and too sacred to be handled rudely without injury to truth."
11.
Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
12.
Nicely discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite; as, a delicate taste; a delicate ear for music.
13.
Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes; as, a delicate thermometer.


noun
Delicate  n.  
1.
A choice dainty; a delicacy. (R.) "With abstinence all delicates he sees."
2.
A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person. "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."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Delicate" Quotes from Famous Books



... returned the captain, with some asperity, "you tell me that this woman has fair hair slightly grey, delicate features, pale complexion, brown eyes, and gentle manners, all of which ...
— The Young Trawler • R.M. Ballantyne
... a patronising way which galled me to the quick,—"do you derive from this source? That is, if you will kindly excuse my saying so? The proposal which you have done my daughter and myself the honour to suggest, necessitates my making such delicate inquiries, ...
— She and I, Volume 2 - A Love Story. A Life History. • John Conroy Hutcheson
... to make matters equal, as it were, there are some stage people so delicate that it is next door to impossible to ...
— Stage-Land • Jerome K. Jerome
... early August party," said her ladyship, rubbing her delicate little old nose with her pencil, "and Walderhurst is coming to me. It always amuses me to have Walderhurst. The moment a man like that comes into a room the women begin to frisk about and swim and languish, except those who try to get up interesting ...
— Emily Fox-Seton - Being The Making of a Marchioness and The Methods of Lady Walderhurst • Frances Hodgson Burnett
... species is known in pharmacy as Chinese cassia or Chinese cinnamon (cassia cinnamon). Indeed it is very like the cinnamon of Ceylon, comes in curled quills, has the same odor and taste though not so delicate; but it is darker in color, with a surface less clean and smooth. Its chemical composition is identical with that of the latter and nowadays it forms an important article ...
— The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines • T. H. Pardo de Tavera


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