Adjective

(en adjective)

Being filled with, or in a state of despair; hopeless.

* (William Shakespeare)

Since his exile she hath despised me most, / Forsworn my company and rail'd at me, / That I am desperate of obtaining her.

* , chapter=16

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=“[…] She takes the whole thing with desperate seriousness. But the others are all easy and jovial—thinking about the good fare that is soon to be eaten, about the hired fly, about anything.”}}

Without regard to danger or safety; reckless; furious.

* Macaulay

desperate expedients

Beyond hope; causing despair; extremely perilous; irretrievable.

Extreme, in a bad sense; outrageous.

* (William Shakespeare)

a desperate offendress against nature

* Macaulay

the most desperate of reprobates

Extremely intense.

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