What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Subtle vs Shuttle - What's the difference?

subtle | shuttle |

As an adjective subtle

is hard to grasp; not obvious or easily understood; barely noticeable.

As a noun shuttle is

(weaving) the part of a loom that carries the woof back and forth between the warp threads.

As a verb shuttle is

to go back and forth between two places.

subtle

English

Alternative forms

* subtil (obsolete) * subtile (obsolete)

Adjective

(er)
  • Hard to grasp; not obvious or easily understood; barely noticeable.
    • The difference is subtle , but you can hear it if you listen carefully.
  • (of a thing) Cleverly contrived.
  • (of a person or animal) Cunning, skillful.
  • insidious
  • * 1623 , , act iv, scene 4,
    • Thy age confirmed, proud, subtle , bloody, treacherous.
  • Tenuous; rarefied; of low density or thin consistency.

    • Synonyms

    * crafty, cunning, skillful * (insidious) insidious

    Antonyms

    * (hard to grasp) simple

    Derived terms

    * subtle body * subtleness * subtlety * subtly

    References

    * * *

    Anagrams

    * * * *

    shuttle

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (weaving) The part of a loom that carries the woof back and forth between the warp threads.
  • * Sandys
    • Like shuttles through the loom, so swiftly glide / My feathered hours.
  • The sliding thread holder in a sewing machine, which carries the lower thread through a loop of the upper thread, to make a lock stitch.
  • A transport service (such as a bus or train) that goes back and forth between two places, sometimes more.
  • Such a transport vehicle; a shuttle bus; a space shuttle.
  • *2004 , Dawn of the Dead, 1:14:20:
  • *:You're saying we take the parking shuttles, reinforce them with aluminum siding and then head to the gun store where our friend Andy plays some cowboy-movie, jump-on-the-wagon bullshit.
  • Any other item that moves repeatedly back and forth between two positions, possibly transporting something else with it between those points (such as, in chemistry, a molecular shuttle ).
  • A shutter, as for a channel for molten metal.

    • Usage notes

    Strictly speaking, a shuttle goes back and forth between two places. However, the term is also used more generally for short-haul transport that may be one-way or have multiple stops (including shared ride or loop), particularly for airport buses; compare loose usage of (m).

    Verb

    (shuttl)
  • To go back and forth between two places.
  • To transport by shuttle or by means of a shuttle service.

    • Derived terms

    (Derived terms) * (l) * (l), (l) * (l) * (l) * (l) * (l) * (l) * (l) * (l) * (l) * (l), (l) * ----