Flexible vs Subtle - What's the difference?
flexible | subtle |
Capable of being flexed or bent without breaking; able to be turned, bowed, or twisted, without breaking; pliable; not stiff or brittle.
Willing or ready to yield to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate; tractable; manageable; ductile; easy and compliant; wavering.
Capable or being adapted or molded; plastic,; as, a flexible language.
(chiefly, engineering, and, manufacturing) Something that is flexible.
* {{quote-news, year=2009, date=August 19, author=Terry McCrann, title=Win-win deal for the times, work=Herald Sun
, passage=Alcan is mostly flexibles -- and so it boosts Amcor's flexible packaging business to a globally significant $7 billion one. }}
Hard to grasp; not obvious or easily understood; barely noticeable.
(of a thing) Cleverly contrived.
(of a person or animal) Cunning, skillful.
insidious
* 1623 , , act iv, scene 4,
Tenuous; rarefied; of low density or thin consistency.
As adjectives the difference between flexible and subtle
is that flexible is capable of being flexed or bent without breaking; able to be turned, bowed, or twisted, without breaking; pliable; not stiff or brittle while subtle is hard to grasp; not obvious or easily understood; barely noticeable.As a noun flexible
is (chiefly|engineering|and|manufacturing) something that is flexible.flexible
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- When the splitting wind Makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks. -
- Phocion was a man of great severity, and no ways flexible to the will of the people. - .
- Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible . -
- This was a principle more flexible to their purpose. -Rogers.
Synonyms
* bendsome * ductile * inconstant * manageable * obsequious * pliant * pliable * supple * tractable * waveringDerived terms
* flexibly * flexiblenessSee also
* foldableNoun
(en noun)citation
References
* * (flexible) * (flexibility) ----subtle
English
Alternative forms
* subtil (obsolete) * subtile (obsolete)Adjective
(er)- The difference is subtle , but you can hear it if you listen carefully.
- Thy age confirmed, proud, subtle , bloody, treacherous.