delicate
pronunciation
How to pronounce delicate in British English:
UK [ˈdelɪkət]
How to pronounce delicate in American English:
US [ˈdelɪkət]
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- Adjective:
- exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury
- marked by great skill especially in meticulous technique
- easily broken or damaged or destroyed
- easily hurt
- developed with extreme delicacy and subtlety
- difficult to handle; requiring great tact
- of an instrument or device; capable of registering minute differences or changes precisely
Word Origin
- delicate
- delicate: [14] Delicate comes either from Old French delicat or direct from its source, Latin dēlicātus, but its ultimate history is obscure. Its formal similarity to delicious and delight, and the fact that ‘addicted to pleasure’ was one of the meanings of Latin dēlicātus, suggest that the three words may have an ancestor in common. Delicatessen [19] was borrowed from German delikatessen, plural of delikatesse ‘delicacy’, which in turn was acquired by German from French délicatesse.=> delicatessen
- delicate (adj.)
- late 14c., "self-indulgent, loving ease; delightful; sensitive, easily hurt; feeble," from Latin delicatus "alluring, delightful, dainty," also "addicted to pleasure, luxurious, effeminate;" which is of uncertain origin; related by folk etymology (and perhaps genuinely) to deliciae "a pet," and delicere "to allure, entice" (see delicious). Meaning "easily broken" is recorded from 1560s.
Antonym
Example
- 1. It is a delicate balancing act .
- 2. Even the most delicate items had great bones .
- 3. The compensation issue is a complicated and delicate one .
- 4. Elliott does delicate desperation better than any man .
- 5. This is a delicate balance .