What's the difference between obvious and subtle?

Obvious


Definition:

  • (a.) Opposing; fronting.
  • (a.) Exposed; subject; open; liable.
  • (a.) Easily discovered, seen, or understood; readily perceived by the eye or the intellect; plain; evident; apparent; as, an obvious meaning; an obvious remark.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The obvious need for highly effective contraception in women with existing disorders of glucose metabolism has led to a search for oral contraceptive (OC) regimens for such women that are efficient but without unacceptable metabolic side effects.
  • (2) The usefulness of the proposed method is obvious in cases where the composition of a precipitate on LM scale is to be compared with the LM appearance of the surrounding tissue.
  • (3) They could go out and trade for a pitcher such as the New York Mets’ Bartolo Colón , an obvious choice despite his 41 years, but he would come with an $11m price tag for next season and have to pass through the waiver wires process first – considering the wily mood Billy Beane is in this year, the A’s could be the team that blocks such a move.
  • (4) This difference becomes more obvious in women on HRT with less than three children compared to a similar group not taking HRT.
  • (5) Thus, it is obvious that new measures will have to be taken if lives are to be saved in future events of this nature.
  • (6) Some women have clinically obvious cervical incompetence and may benefit from a cerclage operation, but criteria for early diagnosis are not universally agreed upon.
  • (7) Much less obvious – except in the fictional domain of the C Thomas Howell film Soul Man – is why someone would want to “pass” in the other direction and voluntarily take on the weight of racial oppression.
  • (8) Obviously it’s good to have all voices on the field.
  • (9) "This will obviously be a sensitive topic for the US administration, but partners in the transatlantic alliance must be clear on common rules of engagement in times of conflict if we are to retain any moral standing in the world," Verhofstadt said.
  • (10) Obvious restitution of the thymic medulla was evident about 14 days after withdrawal of FK506.
  • (11) The content and design of the treatment obviously had a positive influence on patient satisfaction.
  • (12) Symmetrical cases (the so-called siamese twins) have an obvious predominance (92.3%).
  • (13) He said: "While the strike on 30 November will obviously cause disruption, the figures suggested by ministers are fantasy economics.
  • (14) Uterine lavage affords the potential for non-invasive human blastocyst recovery, with obvious potential for preimplantation genetic diagnosis.
  • (15) Gallium-67 imaging is useful in the management of patients with malignant lymphoma, despite its obvious limitations.
  • (16) Future increasing segments of females addicted to tobacco smoking will obviously markedly influence sex difference in morbidity.
  • (17) Successful treatment of hypertriglyceridemic states obviously normalizes the changed composition of the lipoprotein fractions and in consequence effects also the atherogenicity.
  • (18) The thigh and hip manifestations can obscure the primary intra-abdominal process either due to the obvious emphysema or to the obtunded abdominal signs secondary to associated neuropathy.
  • (19) He praised the obvious disgust of local people in parts of south and west Manchester, where gang problems have been concentrated.
  • (20) The most obvious observation was a higher early mortality.

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.