delicate
/ˈdɛl.ɪ.kɪt/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.01 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Characterized by a fine structure or thin lines.
adj
Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; said of manners, conduct, or feelings.
Example Sentences
- "Those clothes are made from delicate lace."
- "The negotiations were very delicate."
- "There are some things too delicate and too sacred to be handled rudely without injury to truth."
- "Indeed, the frosty god conspired with it for our delight; building crystal bridges, with tracery of lace delicater than Valenciennes, and spangled string-pieces, and fretted vaultings, whimsical sierras, stalactite and stalagmite."
- "The final vote between Hollande and Sarkozy now depends on a delicate balance of how France's total of rightwing and leftwing voters line up."
- "Her face was delicate."
Etymology
From Middle English delicat, from Latin dēlicātus (“giving pleasure, delightful, soft, luxurious, delicate, (in Medieval Latin also) fine, slender”), from dēlicia + -ātus (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), usually in plural dēliciae (“pleasure, delight, luxury”), from dēliciō (“to allure, entice”), from dē- (“away”) + laciō (“to lure, to deceive”), from Proto-Italic *lakjō (“to draw, pull”), of unknown ultimate origin. Compare delight, delicious and Spanish delgado (“thin, skinny”). The noun is from a substantivization of the adjective (see -ate).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: delicat, dēlicātus, *lakjō
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kɪt/
- British English: /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more delicate (comparative)
delicater (comparative)
most delicate (superlative)
delicatest (superlative)
delicates (plural)