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: fragile, frail]

4 easily hurt; "soft hands"; "a baby's delicate skin" [syn: soft]

5 developed with extreme delicacy and subtlety; "the satire touches with finespun ridicule every kind of human pretense" [syn: finespun]

6 difficult to handle; requiring great tact; "delicate negotiations with the big powers"; "hesitates to be explicit on so ticklish a matter" [syn: ticklish]

7 of an instrument or device; capable of registering minute differences or changes precisely; "almost undetectable with even the most delicate instruments"

English

Etymology

Middle English delicat < Latin delicatus

Pronunciation

Adjective

1. Easily damaged or requiring careful handling.

   Those clothes are delicate

   The negotiations were very delicate

2. Characterized by a fine structure or thin lines.

   Her face was delicate

   The spider wove a delicate web

   There was a delicate pattern of frost on the window

3. Intended for use with fragile items.

   Set the washing machine to the delicate cycle

4. Of weak health, easily sick.
5. Unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol.

   Please don't speak so loudly - I'm feeling a bit delicate this morning

Translations

• Esperanto: delikata, delikatsenta
• Finnish: herkkä (1)
• French: délicat (1, 2)
• Hebrew: עדין ('adyn) (1)
• Italian: delicato (1, 2)
• Japanese: 繊細な、優美な、精緻な
• Norwegian: delikat
• Polish: delikatny
• Spanish: delicado (1, 2)
• Telugu: సున్నితమైన (sunnitamaina)

Noun

1. A delicate item of clothing

   Don't put that in with your jeans, it's a delicate!

2. Specifically underwear or lingerie.

Related terms

• delicacy
• delicately
• delicatessen
• delicious
• delight

Italian

Adjective

delicate

1. feminine plural of delicato

Romanian

Adjective

delicate

Delicate may refer to:

• "Delicate", a single by Damien Rice from the album O
• "Delicate" (song), a single by Terence Trent D'Arby featuring Des'ree

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