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SUBTLE
Definition of SUBTLE
adjective
Senses relating to tangible things. Of an action or movement: very delicate or slight, and thus barely noticeable; not obvious; inconspicuous, unintrusive. Having a delicate or fine substance or texture; hence, exquisite, refined. Slender, thin. Of a substance: finely powdered; also, of particles of a substance: very fine or small. Of weight: after the tare (“weight of an empty container”) has been subtracted; net.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
The adjective is derived from Middle English sotil, soubtil, subtil (“of a person, the mind, etc.: clever, ingenious, penetrating; cunning, sly; insidious; delicate, fine; not dense, light, thin; finely powdered; narrow, slender; etc.”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman sotel, subtil, sutil, Middle French soutil, subtil, sutil, and Old French sotil, soutil, subtil, sutil (“of an object: skilfully designed or made; delicate, fine; slender, thin; of an intangible thing: difficult to understand; of a person: discerning, shrewd; devious, sly; etc.”) (modern French subtil), from Latin subtīlis (“of texture: delicate, fine; slender, thin; accurate, keen; having fine judgment; etc.”), from sub (“below, under”) + tēla (“warp (threads running lengthwise in a loom); web”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tetḱ- (“to create, produce; to cut, hew”), from *teḱ- (“to beget, sire”)). The word displaced Old English smēag (literally “creeping”). The modern and Middle English (and French) spellings with -b- are influenced by Latin subtīlis; the letter was probably never pronounced. The noun is derived from Middle English sotil, soubtil, subtil (“wise person; sophisticated people collectively”), from the adjective.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
7 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
6th
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
4.2%
of traced words share this origin (1,213)
branch · 22.3% of traced words
How it is built
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
SUBTLE in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 42 boards so far. 66 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 8, 29 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 146, 13 October 2026. It was on the latest finished board.
First found by a player on Day 8, 29 May 2026.
Built from these letters
SUBTLE starts with S and ends with E. Sorted, its letters read BELSTU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Same letters, different word
5 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start SUBTLE
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found SUBTLE?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 8 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER