What's the difference between refine and subtlety?

Refine


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; to free from impurities; to free from dross or alloy; to separate from extraneous matter; to purify; to defecate; as, to refine gold or silver; to refine iron; to refine wine or sugar.
  • (v. t.) To purify from what is gross, coarse, vulgar, inelegant, low, and the like; to make elegant or exellent; to polish; as, to refine the manners, the language, the style, the taste, the intellect, or the moral feelings.
  • (v. i.) To become pure; to be cleared of feculent matter.
  • (v. i.) To improve in accuracy, delicacy, or excellence.
  • (v. i.) To affect nicety or subtilty in thought or language.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The patients had a high AP, consumed more alcohol, were more well-fed, older and consumed more refined carbohydrates per 1 kg bw and less cholesterol and vegetable protein.
  • (2) After restrained least-squares refinement of the enzyme-substrate complex with the riboflavin omitted from the model, additional electron density appeared near the pyrophosphate, which indicated the presence of an ADPR molecule in the FAD binding site of PHBH.
  • (3) Well-refined x-ray structures of the liganded forms of the wild-type and a mutant protein isolated from a strain defective in chemotaxis but fully competent in transport have provided a molecular view of the sugar-binding site and of a site for interacting with the Trg transmembrane signal transducer.
  • (4) To meet these prerequisites we have introduced some technical refinements: (1) computer-controlled rectilinear translations of the target in combination with different angular positions of the source and (2) computer-controlled rotations of the target around a vertical axis in combination with different angular positions of the source.
  • (5) Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) was conceptualized more than 35 years ago, but its clinical application only flourished in the past 10 years after a number of technical refinements.
  • (6) In 1984 the press-fit condylar knee was first introduced and was intended to provide a condylar knee system primarily for posterior cruciate retention that addressed refinements in metallurgy, prosthetic geometry and sizing, cementless fixation, inventory management, and instrumentation.
  • (7) Obviously, the sheer number of lasers being used both clinically and experimentally indicates a great potential for further advancement and refinement in technique and surgical outcomes.
  • (8) Phases from x-ray structure factors (R = 0.43) computed from this model were then used in the calculation of another electron density map against which the model was further refined.
  • (9) Staging classifications are being refined to reflect increasing knowledge of important prognostic indicators, e.g., absence or presence of lymph node involvement, pattern of lymph node involvement, and absence or presence of visceral disease.
  • (10) The ordered aspect of the genetic code table makes this result a plausible starting point for studies of the origin and evolution of the genetic code: these could include, besides a more refined optimization principle at the logical level, some effects more directly related to the physico-chemical context, and the construction of realistic models incorporating both aspects.
  • (11) The structure of Mn(III) superoxide dismutase (Mn(III)SOD) from Thermus thermophilus, a tetramer of chains 203 residues in length, has been refined by restrained least-squares methods.
  • (12) Based on the refined atomic coordinates of the tRNAphe in the orthorhombic crystal, on the recent advances in the distance dependence of the ring-current magnetic field effects and on the adopted values for the isolated hydrogen-bonded NH resonances, a computed spectrum consisting of 23 protons was constructed.
  • (13) It can be used as a simple screening procedure to help determine which of many possible anthelmintic control strategies should be selected for more detailed examination in the field, and it provides a theoretical framework within which ideas concerning the epidemiology of parasitic gastroenteritis can be assessed and refined.
  • (14) The advances in lid and orbital surgery are due to the improvements made in diagnostic equipment and to technical refinements.
  • (15) The group’s refining business performed better than expected, more than doubling profit to $2.2bn from $1bn.
  • (16) They also suggest that both the migration of cortical neurons on glia and the refinement of the mapping between the peripheral whisker field and its cortical representation may depend upon the distribution of substrate adhesion molecules.
  • (17) Thus the present study gives support for a protective effect associated with a fiber-rich or vegetable-rich diet, while it indicates that frequent consumption of refined starchy foods, eggs and fat-rich foods such as cheese and red meat is a risk factor for colo-rectal cancer.
  • (18) Synthesis and discussion is focused on five major areas in which gerontological continuity and change are evidenced: 1) transformation of basic themes over time; 2) gerontology's identity crisis; 3) the social ideology of gerontology; 4) evolution and refinement of gerontological ideas and methods; and 5) temporal frameworks.
  • (19) The course content and format were refined after 11 pharmacists completed a pilot program.
  • (20) This has led to important advances in our understanding of the mechanism of axonal guidance, the physiology of neurotrophic factors and the establishment and refinement of neural connections.

Subtlety


Definition:

  • (n.) The quality or state of being subtle, or sly; cunning; craftiness; artfulness.
  • (n.) Nice discernment with delicacy of mental action; nicety of discrimination.
  • (n.) Something that is sly, crafty, or delusive.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) "The idea that there is this contrast between a world of subtlety, and a world of bald, flat generalisations doesn't sound like what it's like at all.
  • (2) Improved assessments of hallucinating patients are recommended, with exploration of subtleties in the hallucinatory experience; and factors needing assessment are identified.
  • (3) The author explain that an increasing number of men are requesting vasectomy reversals, and unless non-urologists are informed about the subtleties involved in the procedure, they may provide patients with confusing and frustrating information.
  • (4) Minimal amplitude of correction movements increased too (i. e. subtlety of movements decreased), but during retraining this parameter of the movement became compensated.
  • (5) The subtlety of the chromosome rearrangement in this case illustrates the need for the most detailed cytogenetic investigations in cri du chat cases when deletion or translocation are not immediately obvious.
  • (6) It will not happen quickly and it may need to be approached with subtlety as well as forceful insistence (in Kosovo they simply converted the rebel forces into a kind of home guard as an interim step).
  • (7) Each tweet was identical – "The Lib Dem Eastleigh campaign in turmoil as Party's candidate admitted he 'voted for' 5,000 new houses on green spaces" – and the social networking site was soon abuzz with users claiming the episode was orchestrated from Tory central command and proof that some in the party were still struggling with the subtleties of campaigning in the digital age.
  • (8) Multiparameter analysis clearly separated these 18 patients into two distinct groups and confirms that the subtleties used in the histologic classification of these lymphoma subtypes are meaningful.
  • (9) The subtlety of the differences in nuclear shape makes it practically impossible to subjectively detect the significant prognostic level of ellipsoidity, especially in borderline cases.
  • (10) Multiple modeling formalisms that express different temporal properties of the domain task and that work cooperatively are required to capture the subtlety and diversity of temporal features used in expert clinical problem solving.
  • (11) If the Conservatives really want to display the limits of SNP power in Westminster, their only hope is that Labour can deliver a similar trick with more subtlety.
  • (12) The monolithic concept bulk of this scientific Anthropocene can crush the subtleties out of both past and future, disregarding the roles of ideology, empire and political economy.
  • (13) The subtlety of the symptoms and the need for immediate care make the role of the emergency department triage nurse essential in helping to facilitate the diagnosis.
  • (14) With even less subtlety, Umunna has been warning them that crossing Labour the way that Stefano Pessina, the non-dom hedge fundster and Boots boss did at the weekend, would damage their interests.
  • (15) While social media may offer a newfound subtlety and control to the coming-out process, it brings with it a global audience.
  • (16) But it's only in watching how performances are made, from the rehearsal room to the concert hall, in observing how the connection between conductors and their musicians is created, sustained and sometimes transcended, that you can understand the subtlety of the relationship.
  • (17) Rafa Benítez put it down to bad luck and a little “anxiety” in the final minutes but the truth is that there was also something a little unconvincing about the way Madrid attacked at times, lacking a little subtlety (lacking James Rodríguez most of all?).
  • (18) Just as the true complexity of coordination is evident only in multiarticular actions, the sophistication and subtlety of adaptive behavior are evident only in dynamic, interactive tasks.
  • (19) Investigated the relationship between psychological mindedness (measured by the Psychological Mindedness [Py] scale of the California Psychological Inventory [CPI]), intelligence (estimated by American College Test [act] scores), and item subtlety endorsement patterns of Ss asked to answer the MMPI under standard, fake-good, and fake-bad response sets.
  • (20) It just pushes its rightwing message with a surprising subtlety.