Adjective

(en adjective)

Easily damaged or requiring careful handling.

Those clothes are made from delicate lace.

The negotiations were very delicate .

* F. W. Robertson

There are some things too delicate and too sacred to be handled rudely without injury to truth.

* {{quote-news

, year=2012 , date=April 23 , author=Angelique Chrisafis , title=François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election , work=the Guardian citation , page= , passage=The final vote between Hollande and Sarkozy now depends on a delicate balance of how France's total of rightwing and leftwing voters line up.}}

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.

Intended for use with fragile items.

Set the washing machine to the delicate cycle.

Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; said of manners, conduct, or feelings.

delicate''' behaviour; '''delicate''' attentions; '''delicate thoughtfulness

Of weak health; easily sick; unable to endure hardship.

a delicate''' child; '''delicate health

* Shakespeare

a delicate and tender prince

(informal) Unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol.

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

(obsolete) Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring.

* 1360–1387 , (William Langland), (Piers Plowman) (C-text), passus IX, line 285:

Þenk þat diues for hus delicat lyf to þe deuel wente.

* circa'' 1660 , (John Evelyn) (author), , volume I of II (1901), entry for the 19th of August in 1641, page 29:

Haerlem is a very delicate town and hath one of the fairest churches of the Gothic design I had ever seen.

Pleasing to the senses; refined; adapted to please an elegant or cultivated taste.

a delicate''' dish; '''delicate flavour

Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful.

* circa'' 1603 , (William Shakespeare), ''(Othello) , act II, scene iii, lines 18 and 20–21:

:   She’s a most exquisite lady.…Indeed, she’s a most fresh and delicate creature.

Light, or softly tinted; said of a colour.

a delicate shade of blue

Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.

Highly discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite.

a delicate''' taste; a '''delicate ear for music

Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes.

a delicate thermometer

Adjective

(er)

Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.

*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)

*:The outlines must be smooth , imperceptible to the touch, and even, without eminence or cavities.

*

*:“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable,.

*{{quote-book, year=2005, author=Lesley Brown, title=Sophist, extra=, by=(Plato)

, passage=Teaching that’s done by talking seems to have one rough path and another part which is smoother .}}

Without difficulty, problems, or unexpected consequences or incidents.

:

* 2011 , Phil McNulty, Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England :

*:England's path to Poland and Ukraine next summer looked to be a smooth one as goals from Ashley Young and Darren Bent gave them a comfortable lead after 31 minutes.

Bland; glib.

*(Joseph Addison) (1672–1719)

*:This smooth discourse and mild behavior oft / Conceal a traitor.

*{{quote-book, year=1912, author=(Gustavus Myers), title= History of the Supreme Court of the United States, page=133

, passage=This feeling, grounded on the experience of centuries of oppression, was not to be allayed by smooth explanations on the part of the advocates of the Constitution.}}

Flowing or uttered without check, obstruction, or hesitation; not harsh; fluent.

*(John Milton) (1608-1674)

*:the only smooth poet of those times

*(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)

*:Waller was smooth ; but Dryden taught to join / The varying verse, the full-resounding line.

*(John Gay) (1685-1732)

*:When sage Minerva rose, / From her sweet lips smooth elocution flows.

(lb) Suave; sophisticated.

*{{quote-book, year=2003, author=T. Lewis Humphrey, isbn=0595272606, title= The Price of Love, page=279

, passage=He was so smooth and handsome. He knew just what to say and when to say it.}}

(lb) Natural; unconstrained.

*{{quote-book, year=2006, author=Mary Kay Moskal and Camille Blachowicz, title= Reading for Fluency, isbn=1593852649, page=3

, passage=In order for a reading to be smooth and effortless, readers must be able to recognize and read words accurately, automatically, and quickly.}}

(lb) Unbroken.

*{{quote-book, year=1927, author=United States (National Guard Bureau), title= Manual of Basic Training and Standards of Proficiency for the National Guard

, page=181 , passage=Demonstrate first by the numbers and then as one smooth movement.}}

Placid, calm.

*, title= An American Cruiser in the East, page=47

, passage=As we worked to the southward, we picked up fair weather, and enjoyed smooth seas and pleasant skies.}}

(lb) Lacking projections or indentations; not serrated.

*{{quote-book, year=1994, author=Robert E. Swanson, isbn=0801845564, title= A Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of the Southern Appalachians, page=8

, passage=A leaf having a smooth margin, without teeth or indentations of any kind, is called entire.}}

*{{quote-book, year=1997, author=Christopher Dickey, isbn=0684842009, title= Innocent Blood: A Novel, page=91

, passage=Out of the handles flipped the smooth blade and the serrated blade, which was dangerously sharp, the flathead screwdrivers, the Phillips screwdriver, the can opener, the awl.}}

(lb) Not grainy; having an even texture.

*{{quote-book, year=1997, author=Lou Seibert Pappas, isbn=0811815730, title= Sorbets and Ice Creams, page=19

, passage=A compact and stylish design, it produces 1 generous quart of excellent, smooth ice cream in 20 to 25 minutes.}}

(lb) Having a pleasantly rounded flavor; neither rough nor astringent.

*{{quote-book, year=2002, author=Candace Irvin, isbn=0373079362, title= For His Eyes Only, page=9

, passage=The coffee was smooth , so smooth she took another sip.}}

Having derivatives of all finite orders at all points within the function’s domain.

*{{quote-book, year=2003, author=Eric W. Weisstein, isbn=1584883472, title= CRC Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics, page=419

, passage=Any ANALYTIC FUNCTION is smooth . But a smooth function is not necessarily analytic.}}

Lacking marked aspiration.

*{{quote-book, year=1830, author=Benjamin Franklin Fisk, title= A Grammar of the Greek Language, page=5

, passage=