Fine vs Delicate - What's the difference?
fine | delicate |
(lb) Of subjective quality.
#Of superior quality.
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#*
#*:"A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there.."
#(lb) Being acceptable, adequate, passable, or satisfactory.
#:
#*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=3
, passage=Now all this was very fine , but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.}}
#(lb) Good-looking, attractive.
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#*, chapter=10
, title= #Subtle, delicately balanced.
#*The Independent
#*:The fine distinction between lender of last resort and a bail-out
#(lb) Showy; overdecorated.
#*(Matthew Arnold) (1822-1888)
#*:He gratified them with occasionalfine writing.
#Delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; dexterous.
#*(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
#*:The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine !
#*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
#*:The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery.
#*(Thomas Gray) (1716-1771)
#*:He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman.
(lb) Of objective quality.
#Of a particular grade of quality, usually between very good'' and ''very fine'', and below ''mint .
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#(lb) Sunny and not raining.
#*, chapter=23
, title= #Consisting of especially minute particulate; made up of particularly small pieces.
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#Particularly slender; especially thin, narrow, or of small girth.
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#Made of slender or thin filaments.
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#Having a (specified) proportion of pure metal in its composition.
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(lb) Behind the batsman and at a small angle to the line between the wickets.
:
(lb) Subtle; thin; tenuous.
*(Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
*:The eye standeth in the finer medium and the object in the grosser.
expression of agreement
well, nicely, in a positive way
Fine champagne; French brandy.
* 1926 , Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises , Scribner 2003, p. 14:
* 1936 , Djuna Barnes, Nightwood , Faber & Faber 2007, p. 18:
(usually, in the plural) something that is fine; fine particles
* They filtered silt and fines out of the soil.
to make finer, purer, or cleaner; to purify or clarify.
* Hobbes
to become finer, purer, or cleaner.
To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.
To change by fine gradations.
* Browning
to clarify (wine and beer) by filtration.
A fee levied as punishment for breaking the law.
* The fine for jay-walking has gone from two dollars to thirty in the last fifteen years.
* {{quote-book, year=2006, author=
, title=Internal Combustion
, chapter=2 To issue a fine as punishment to (someone).
* She was fined a thousand dollars for littering, but she appealed.
To pay a fine.
* Hallam
(music) The end of a musical composition.
(music) The location in a musical score that indicates the end of the piece, particularly when the piece ends somewhere in the middle of the score due to a section of the music being repeated.
(obsolete) To finish; to cease.
(obsolete) To cause to cease; to stop.
(obsolete) End; conclusion; termination; extinction.
* Spenser
* Shakespeare
A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal.
(UK, legal) A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease.
(Webster 1913)
Easily damaged or requiring careful handling.
* F. W. Robertson
* {{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
Characterized by a fine structure or thin lines.
Intended for use with fragile items.
Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; said of manners, conduct, or feelings.
Of weak health; easily sick; unable to endure hardship.
* Shakespeare
(informal) Unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol.
(obsolete) Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring.
* 1360–1387 , (William Langland), (Piers Plowman) (C-text),
* circa'' 1660 , (John Evelyn) (author), , volume I of II (1901), entry for the 19th of August in 1641,
Pleasing to the senses; refined; adapted to please an elegant or cultivated taste.
Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful.
* circa'' 1603 , (William Shakespeare), ''(Othello) , act II,
Light, or softly tinted; said of a colour.
Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
Highly discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite.
Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes.
A delicate item of clothing, especially underwear or lingerie.
(obsolete) A choice dainty; a delicacy.
(obsolete) A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person.
In informal terms the difference between fine and delicate
is that fine is good-looking, attractive while delicate is unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol.In obsolete terms the difference between fine and delicate
is that fine is end; conclusion; termination; extinction while delicate is a delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person.As adjectives the difference between fine and delicate
is that fine is Of subjective quality.delicate is easily damaged or requiring careful handling.As nouns the difference between fine and delicate
is that fine is fine champagne; French brandy while delicate is a delicate item of clothing, especially underwear or lingerie.As an adverb fine
is expression of agreementAs a verb fine
is to make finer, purer, or cleaner; to purify or clarify.fine
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) fin, from (etyl) .Adjective
(er)The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.}}
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=If the afternoon was fine they strolled together in the park, very slowly, and with pauses to draw breath wherever the ground sloped upward. The slightest effort made the patient cough.}}
Synonyms
* (of superior quality) good, excellent * (informal) (being acceptable, adequate, passable, or satisfactory ): all right, ok, , okay, hunky-dory, kosher * (made up of particularly small pieces) fine-grained, powdered, powdery, pulverised, pulverized, small-grained * (made of slender or thin filaments) fine-threadedAntonyms
* (made up of particularly small pieces) coarse * (made of slender or thin filaments) coarseAdverb
(en adverb)- Everything worked out fine.
Synonyms
* (expression of agreement) all right, alright, OK, very wellNoun
(en noun)- We had dined at l'Avenue's, and afterward went to the Café de Versailles for coffee. We had several fines after the coffee, and I said I must be going.
- He refilled his glass. ‘The fine is very good,’ he said.
Usage notes
Particularly used in plural as fines of ground coffee beans in espresso making.See also
* filingVerb
(fin)- to fine gold
- It hath been fined and refined by learned men.
- to fine the soil
- to fine down a ship's lines, i.e. to diminish her lines gradually
- I often sate at home / On evenings, watching how they fined themselves / With gradual conscience to a perfect night.
Synonyms
* (to make or become finer, purer, or cleaner ): clarify, refine, purifyDerived terms
* chance'd be a fine thing * cut it fine * fine art * fine as frog hair * fine feathers make fine birds * fine-grained * fine leg * fine line * finely * fineness * fine print * fine-structure constant * fine-tooth comb * fine-tune * fine words butter no parsnips * * just fine * to a fine fare-thee-wellEtymology 2
(etyl)Noun
(en noun)citation, passage=The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.}}
Synonyms
* amercementVerb
- Men fined' for the king's good will; or that he would remit his anger; women ' fined for leave to marry.
Synonyms
* amerceEtymology 3
From (etyl) ("end").Noun
(en noun)Usage notes
This word is virtually never used in speech and therefore essentially confined to musical notation.Derived terms
* da capo al fine=Etymology 4
(etyl) finer, (etyl) finir. See (finish) (transitive verb).Verb
(fin)Noun
(en noun)- to see their fatal fine
- Is this the fine of his fines?
- (Spelman)
Statistics
*Anagrams
* * * English heteronyms English terms with multiple etymologies 1000 English basic words ----delicate
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- Those clothes are made from delicate lace.
- The negotiations were very delicate .
- There are some things too delicate and too sacred to be handled rudely without injury to truth.
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.}}
- Her face was delicate .
- The spider wove a delicate web.
- There was a delicate pattern of frost on the window.
- Set the washing machine to the delicate cycle.
- delicate''' behaviour; '''delicate''' attentions; '''delicate thoughtfulness
- a delicate''' child; '''delicate health
- a delicate and tender prince
- Please don't speak so loudly: I'm feeling a bit delicate this morning.
passus IX, line 285:
- Þenk þat diues for hus delicat lyf to þe deuel wente.
page 29:
- Haerlem is a very delicate town and hath one of the fairest churches of the Gothic design I had ever seen.
- a delicate''' dish; '''delicate flavour
scene iii, lines 18 and 20–21:
- : She’s a most exquisite lady.…Indeed, she’s a most fresh and delicate creature.
- a delicate shade of blue
- a delicate''' taste; a '''delicate ear for music
- a delicate thermometer
Synonyms
* (easily damaged) fragileNoun
(en noun)- Don't put that in with your jeans: it's a delicate !
- With abstinence all delicates he sees. — Dryden.
- All the vessels, then, which our delicates have, — those I mean that would seem to be more fine in their houses than their neighbours, — are only of the Corinth metal. — Holland.