Subtepid adjective Slightly tepid.

Subterete adjective Somewhat terete.

Subterfluent, Subterfluous adjective [ Latin subterfluens , present participle of subterfluere to flow beneath; subter under + fluere to flow.] Running under or beneath. [ R.]

Subterfuge noun [ French, from Late Latin subterfugium , from Latin subterfugere to flee secretly, to escape; subter under + fugere to flee. See Fugitive .] That to which one resorts for escape or concealment; an artifice employed to escape censure or the force of an argument, or to justify opinions or conduct; a shift; an evasion.

Affect not little shifts and subterfuges , to avoid the force of an argument.

I. Watts.

By a miserable subterfuge , they hope to render this position safe by rendering it nugatory.

Burke.

Subterrane noun [ Confer Latin subterraneum , French souterrain . See Subterranean .] A cave or room under ground. [ R.] J. Bryant.

Subterraneal adjective Subterranean. [ Obsolete]

Subterranean, Subterraneous adjective [ Latin subterraneus ; sub under + terra earth. See Terrace .] Being or lying under the surface of the earth; situated within the earth, or under ground; as, subterranean springs; a subterraneous passage. -- Sub`ter*ra"ne*ous*ly , adverb

Subterranity noun A place under ground; a subterrany. [ Obsolete] Sir T. Browne.

Subterrany adjective Subterranean. [ Obsolete] Bacon. -- noun A subterranean place. [ Obsolete]

Subterrene adjective [ Latin subterrenus , equiv. to subterraneus .] Subterraneous. [ Obsolete]

Subterrestrial adjective Subterranean.

Subthalamic adjective (Anat.) Situated under the optic thalamus.

Subtile adjective [ Latin subtilis . See Subtile .]
1. Thin; not dense or gross; rare; as, subtile air; subtile vapor; a subtile medium.

2. Delicately constituted or constructed; nice; fine; delicate; tenuous; finely woven. "A sotil [ subtile] twine's thread." Chaucer.

More subtile web Arachne can not spin.

Spenser.

I do distinguish plain
Each subtile line of her immortal face.

Sir J. Davies.

3. Acute; piercing; searching.

The slow disease and subtile pain.

Prior.

5. Characterized by nicety of discrimination; discerning; delicate; refined; subtle. [ In this sense now commonly written subtle .]

The genius of the Spanish people is exquisitely subtile , without being at all acute; hence there is so much humor and so little wit in their literature. The genius of the Italians, on the contrary, is acute, profound, and sensual, but not subtile ; hence what they think to be humorous, is merely witty.

Coleridge.

The subtile influence of an intellect like Emerson's.

Hawthorne.

5. Sly; artful; cunning; crafty; subtle; as, a subtile person; a subtile adversary; a subtile scheme. [ In this sense now commonly written subtle .]

Syn. -- Subtile , Acute . In acute the image is that of a needle's point; in subtile that of a thread spun out to fineness. The acute intellect pierces to its aim; the subtile (or subtle ) intellect winds its way through obstacles.

-- Sub"tile*ly , adverb -- Sub"tile*ness , noun

Subtiliate transitive verb [ Late Latin subtiliare .] To make thin or rare. [ Obsolete] Harvey. -- Sub`til*i*a"tion noun [ Obsolete] Boyle.

Subtilism noun The quality or state of being subtile; subtility; subtlety.

The high orthodox subtilism of Duns Scotus.

Milman.

Subtility noun [ Latin subtilitas : confer French subtilité . See Subtle .] Subtilty. [ R.]

Subtilization noun [ Confer French subtilization .]
1. The act of making subtile.

2. (Old Chem.) The operation of making so volatile as to rise in steam or vapor.

3. Refinement; subtlety; extreme attenuation.

Subtilize transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Subtilized ; present participle & verbal noun Subtilizing .] [ Latin subtiliser .]
1. To make thin or fine; to make less gross or coarse.

2. To refine; to spin into niceties; as, to subtilize arguments.

Nor as yet have we subtilized ourselves into savages.

Burke.

Subtilize intransitive verb To refine in argument; to make very nice distinctions. Milner.

Subtilizer noun One who subtilizes.

Subtilty noun [ Contr. from subtility .]
1. The quality or state of being subtile; thinness; fineness; as, the subtility of air or light.

2. Refinement; extreme acuteness; subtlety.

Intelligible discourses are spoiled by too much subtility in nice divisions.

Locke.

3. Cunning; skill; craft. [ Obsolete]

To learn a lewd man this subtility .

Chaucer.

4. Slyness in design; artifice; guile; a cunning design or artifice; a trick; subtlety.

O full of all subtility and all mischief.

Acts xiii. 10.

» In senses 2, 3, and 4 the word is more commonly written subtlety .

Subtle adjective [ Compar. Subtler ; superl. Subtlest .] [ Middle English sotil , subtil , Old French soutil , later subtil , French subtil , Latin subtilis ; probably, originally, woven fine, and from sub under + tela a web, from texere to weave. See Text , and confer Subtile .]
1. Sly in design; artful; cunning; insinuating; subtile; -- applied to persons; as, a subtle foe. "A subtle traitor." Shak.

2. Cunningly devised; crafty; treacherous; as, a subtle stratagem.

3. Characterized by refinement and niceness in drawing distinctions; nicely discriminating; -- said of persons; as, a subtle logician; refined; tenuous; sinuous; insinuating; hence, penetrative or pervasive; -- said of the mind; its faculties, or its operations; as, a subtle intellect; a subtle imagination; a subtle process of thought; also, difficult of apprehension; elusive.

Things remote from use, obscure and subtle .

Milton.

4. Smooth and deceptive. [ Obsolete]

Like to a bowl upon a subtle ground [ bowling ground].

Shak.

Syn. -- Artful; crafty; cunning; shrewd; sly; wily. Subtle is the most comprehensive of these epithets and implies the finest intellectual quality. See Shrewd , and Cunning .

Subtleness noun The quality or state of being subtle; subtlety.

Subtlety noun ; plural Subtleties . [ Middle English sotelte , sutilte , Old French sotillete , Latin subtilitas . See Subtle , and confer Subtility .]
1. The quality or state of being subtle, or sly; cunning; craftiness; artfulness.

The fox which lives by subtlety .

Shak.

2. Nice discernment with delicacy of mental action; nicety of discrimination.

3. Something that is sly, crafty, or delusive.

Unlearned in the world's false subtleties .

Shak.

Subtly adverb In a subtle manner; slyly; artfully; cunningly.

Thou seest how subtly to detain thee I devise.

Milton.

2. Nicely; delicately.

In the nice bee what sense so subtly true.

Pope.

Subtly communicating itself to my sensibilities, but evading the analysis of my mind.

Hawthorne.

3. Deceitfully; delusively. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Subtonic adjective (Phonetics) Applied to, or distinguishing, a speech element consisting of tone, or proper vocal sound, not pure as in the vowels, but dimmed and otherwise modified by some kind of obstruction in the oral or the nasal passage, and in some cases with a mixture of breath sound; -- a term introduced by Dr. James Rush in 1833. See Guide to Pronunciation , §§155, 199-202.

Subtonic noun
1. (Phonetics) A subtonic sound or element; a vocal consonant, as b , d , g , n , etc.; a subvocal.

2. (Mus.) The seventh tone of the scale, or that immediately below the tonic; -- called also subsemitone .

Subtorrid adjective Nearly torrid.

Subtract transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Subtracted ; present participle & verbal noun Subtracting .] [ Latin subtractus , past participle of subtrahere to draw from beneath, withdraw, remove; sub under + trahere to draw. See Trace , transitive verb , and confer Substract .] To withdraw, or take away, as a part from the whole; to deduct; as, subtract 5 from 9, and the remainder is 4.

Subtracter noun
1. One who subtracts.

2. The subtrahend. [ Obsolete]

Subtraction noun [ Latin subtractio a drawing back. See Subtract , and confer Substraction .]
1. The act or operation of subtracting or taking away a part.

2. (Math.) The taking of a lesser number or quantity from a greater of the same kind or denomination; an operation for finding the difference between two numbers or quantities.

3. (Law) The withdrawing or withholding from a person of some right to which he is entitled by law.

» Thus the subtraction of conjugal rights is when either the husband or wife withdraws from the other and lives separate without sufficient reason. The subtraction of a legacy is the withholding or detailing of it from the legatee by the executor. In like manner, the withholding of any service, rent, duty, or custom, is a subtraction , for which the law gives a remedy. Blackstone.

Subtractive adjective
1. Tending, or having power, to subtract.

2. (Math.) Having the negative sign, or sign minus.

Subtrahend noun [ Latin subtrahendus that is to be subtracted, p.fut.pess. of subtrahere . See Subtract .] (Math.) The sum or number to be subtracted, or taken from another.

Subtranslucent adjective Not perfectly translucent.

Subtransparent adjective Not perfectly transparent.

Subtreasurer noun The public officer who has charge of a subtreasury. [ U. S.]

Subtreasury noun ; plural Subtreasuries A subordinate treasury, or place of deposit; as, the United States subtreasury at New York. [ U. S.]

Subtriangular adjective Nearly, but not perfectly, triangular. Darwin.

Subtribe noun (Bot. & Zoology) A division of a tribe; a group of genera of a little lower rank than a tribe.

Subtrihedral adjective Approaching the form of a three-sided pyramid; as, the subtrihedral crown of a tooth. Owen.

Subtriple adjective (Math.) Containing a third, or one part to three. Bp. Wilkins.

Subtriplicate adjective (Math.) Expressed by the cube root; -- said especially of ratios.

Subtriplicate ratio , the ratio of the cube root; thus, the subtriplicate ratio of a to b is a to b , or a / b .

Subtropical adjective Nearly tropical.

Subtrude transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Subtruded ; present participle & verbal noun Subtruding .] [ Prefix sub- + Latin trudere to thrust.] To place under; to insert. [ R.]

Subturriculate adjective (Zoology) Somewhat turriculate.

Subtutor noun An under tutor.

Subtypical adjective (Zoology) Deviating somewhat from the type of a species, genus, or other group; slightly aberrant.

Subulate, Subulated adjective [ New Latin subulatus , from Latin subula an awl.] Very narrow, and tapering gradually to a fine point from a broadish base; awl-shaped; linear.

Subulicornes noun plural [ New Latin , from Latin subula an awl + cornu horn.] (Zoology) A division of insects having slender or subulate antennæ. The dragon flies and May flies are examples.

Subuliform adjective Subulate.