What's the difference between gentle and subtle?

Gentle


Definition:

  • (superl.) Well-born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble.
  • (superl.) Quiet and refined in manners; not rough, harsh, or stern; mild; meek; bland; amiable; tender; as, a gentle nature, temper, or disposition; a gentle manner; a gentle address; a gentle voice.
  • (superl.) A compellative of respect, consideration, or conciliation; as, gentle reader.
  • (superl.) Not wild, turbulent, or refractory; quiet and docile; tame; peaceable; as, a gentle horse.
  • (superl.) Soft; not violent or rough; not strong, loud, or disturbing; easy; soothing; pacific; as, a gentle touch; a gentle gallop .
  • (n.) One well born; a gentleman.
  • (n.) A trained falcon. See Falcon-gentil.
  • (n.) A dipterous larva used as fish bait.
  • (v. t.) To make genteel; to raise from the vulgar; to ennoble.
  • (v. t.) To make smooth, cozy, or agreeable.
  • (v. t.) To make kind and docile, as a horse.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Put in a large bowl, add the parsley, oil and lemon juice, and gently toss.
  • (2) Differential and sucrose gradient centrifugation of honey bee thoraces, disrupted by gentle methods and using mannitol-triethanolamine-EDTA buffer at pH 6.5, showed that in the honey bee thorax 92-94.8% of the trehalase was mitochondrial.
  • (3) Despite his gentle demeanour, the 52-year-old director can be a taskmaster on set, according to colleagues.
  • (4) The response was composed of an isometric phase, during which the body weight was shifted from the stimulated limb to the opposite forelimb while the stimulated limb was gently pushed backwards, and a movement phase during which the stimulated paw actually accomplished the placing reaction.
  • (5) Maximal expiratory flow-volume (MEFV) curves similar to those obtained in most dogs and in some humans could be produced: a peak followed by a gently sloping plateau ending in a knee, where flow suddenly fell to a much smaller value approaching zero rather slowly over the last 25 to 50% of the expired vital capacity.
  • (6) Ten tissue sections from 10 examples of Bowen's disease were excised from paraffin blocks, rehydrated, and incubated in 90% formic acid at 45 degrees C for 18 h. The epidermis was gently removed with the aid of a dissecting microscope, and the remaining dermis with attached basal lamina was processed for scanning electron microscopy.
  • (7) Varying widely in size and configuration, these structures are usually somewhat ovoid but can be elongated, gently squared, or asymmetric.
  • (8) Less than 2% of humanitarian funds 'go directly to local NGOs' Read more Suggest to her that she’s too outspoken, that her approach is counterproductive and alienates those who are trying to drive change more gently, and she pauses.
  • (9) Rabbit aorta contracting substance (RCS) and prostaglandins were released from guinea-pig isolated perfused lungs by gentle massage and also by infusion of Prosparol.2.
  • (10) Endodontic procedures should be accomplished with judicious precision and gentle.
  • (11) If this coastline ever gets fully developed, I hope it happens in this direction, taking the lead from Punta del Diablo with a gentle development down, rather than large-scale and from Punta del Este upwards.
  • (12) The cell debris from the surfaces of the separated incisors was either gently wiped off with soft facial tissues or chemically removed by treating with NaOH, NaOCl or trypsin.
  • (13) Does he really think, like those daft gender essentialists, that women are innately gentle and men are big brutes out for a ruck?
  • (14) An attempt was made to isolate undegraded hyaluronan from rat skin by gentle methods giving full recovery in order to estimate the molecular weight of the polysaccharide.
  • (15) The adherent cells are easily removed by gentle pipetting; both adherent and nonadherent populations retain immunologic function.
  • (16) Ramos was beaten to it, De Gea did not move and Kalinic jumped to ease in a gentle, back-heel-style volley with the outside of his foot.
  • (17) But Nick Loening, owner of Ecoyoga in the Scottish Highlands, is evangelical about the benefits of a good soak and gently insistent that his guests make the most of the various bathing options at his retreat – regardless of the weather.
  • (18) My father, Peter Self, who was, oxymoronically, a “political scientist”, wrote numerous books, which, while often technical in character, were nonetheless informed by his own rather gentle and utopian socialism.
  • (19) When we say goodbye, Max turns in the passenger seat, and says, simply: 'Be gentle with her.'
  • (20) 5 Dollop the blackcurrant jam all over the surface of the cooked custard and spread gently to level it.

Subtle


Definition:

  • (superl.) Sly in design; artful; cunning; insinuating; subtile; -- applied to persons; as, a subtle foe.
  • (superl.) Cunningly devised; crafty; treacherous; as, a subtle stratagem.
  • (superl.) Characterized by refinement and niceness in drawing distinctions; nicely discriminating; -- said of persons; as, a subtle logician; refined; tenuous; sinuous; insinuating; hence, penetrative or pervasive; -- said of the mind; its faculties, or its operations; as, a subtle intellect; a subtle imagination; a subtle process of thought; also, difficult of apprehension; elusive.
  • (superl.) Smooth and deceptive.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) As a group, the three mammalian proteins resemble bovine serum conglutinin and behave as lectins with rather broad sugar specificities directed at certain non-reducing terminal N-acetylglucosamine, mannose, glucose and fucose residues, but with subtle differences in fine specificities.
  • (2) But it will be a subtle difference, because it's already abundantly clear there's no danger of the war being suddenly forgotten, or made to seem irrelevant to our sense of what Europe and the world has to avoid repeating.
  • (3) Communicating sustainability is a subtle attempt at doing good Read more And yet, in environmental terms it is infinitely preferable to prevent waste altogether, rather than recycle it.
  • (4) If, indeed, there is an immunologic basis for pre-eclampsia, it is more subtle than the methodology used in this study is capable of detecting.
  • (5) Subtle differences between Chicago urban and Grand Forks rural climates are reflected in arthritic subjects' degree of pain and their perception of pain-related stress.
  • (6) Critical in this understanding are the subtle changes that occur in the individual patient, reflecting the natural history of the disease or response to its treatment.
  • (7) Subtle cognitive deficits in Inferential Reading Comprehension were detected when Reading Vocabulary was at or better than a twelfth grade level.
  • (8) This histochemical difference corresponded to more subtle differences in Nissl and myelin staining patterns, and suggests further structural subdivisions of potential functional significance.
  • (9) Thus, luciferase transcriptional fusions can detect subtle variations in initial rates of gene expression in a real-time, nondestructive assay.
  • (10) The binding of [3H]PAF to washed human platelets indicated subtle changes between Days 2 and 4, which became more noticeable by Day 6.
  • (11) In this study the temperature dependence of the reactivity of aldolase SH groups is investigated in order to detect subtle changes in the enzyme conformation.
  • (12) The crucial issue of whether subtle behavioral, intellectual, and developmental impairment occurs in young children, as a result of lead-induced CNS damage is discussed in detail.
  • (13) Historically, what made SNL’s campaign coverage so necessary was its ability to highlight the subtle absurdities of the election and exaggerate the ridiculous.
  • (14) It is believed that by looking at such subtle shape differences an understanding of what it means morphologically for a primate to be either more or less arboreal may be achieved.
  • (15) The current magnetic resonance imaging system with computerized image processing is a sensitive and simple method for evaluation of subtle parenchymal changes of the brain.
  • (16) Fundus examination disclosed a subtle cherry red spot bilaterally.
  • (17) Ependymal cells developed luminal fronds that projected into the ventricle and the subpial glia displayed a very subtle gliosis in the form of thin multi-laminated processes.
  • (18) The rapidity of obtaining the results (within one hour), the complete absence of untoward reactions to the radiopharmaceuticals, the much lower frequency of subtle or indeterminate results, the ability to render useful information in the presence of moderate jaundice and the lack of interference from overlying intestinal contents establishes these radionuclide agents as superior to both radiographic oral and intravenous cholangiography in the investigation of the acute abdomen.
  • (19) Moreover, subtle improvements observed in earlier investigations were not confirmed.
  • (20) Various compounds show subtle but significant differences in blood clearance, excretion, and soft-tissue uptake.