What does "delicate" mean?
A delicate item of clothing, especially underwear or lingerie.
Delicate
/ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/ adj, noun, slang
adj, noun, slang ·Top 500 ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A delicate item of clothing, especially underwear or lingerie.
- Grammar: delicate is listed as adj, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: fragile, abstruse, accommodating, accommodative.
- Useful contrasts: acrider, armored earth wire, assertive.
- Usage evidence: Those who are delicate in health are apt to catch a cold when the cold season sets in.
How to use "delicate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "delicate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "delicate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "delicate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "delicate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "delicate" is acting as adj, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "fragile" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "delicate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A delicate item of clothing, especially underwear or lingerie.
"Don't put that in with your jeans: it's a delicate!"
- 2 A choice dainty; a delicacy. obsolete
"With Abstinence all Delicates he Sees, / And can regale himself with Toast and Cheese."
- 3 A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person. obsolete
"A council of war was called, and the delicates met in the great cabin ; the platform was rigged up on the forecastle, the yard-rope rove, and the signal made for all boats to attend execution"
- 4 A moth of the species Mythimna vitellina.
Adjective
- 1 Easily damaged or requiring careful handling.
"Those clothes are made from delicate lace."
- 2 Characterized by a fine structure or thin lines.
"Her face was delicate."
- 3 Intended for use with fragile items.
"Set the washing machine to the delicate cycle."
- 4 Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; said of manners, conduct, or feelings.
"delicate behaviour"
- 5 Of weak health; easily sick; unable to endure hardship.
"a delicate child"
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 Unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol. informal
"Please don't speak so loudly: I'm feeling a bit delicate this morning."
- 7 Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring. obsolete
"This [Haarlem] is a very delicate towne, and hath one of the fairest Churches, of the Gotiq design, I had seene."
- 8 Pleasing to the senses; refined; adapted to please an elegant or cultivated taste.
"a delicate dish"
- 9 Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful.
"Caſ[ſio]. She is a moſt exquiſite Lady. […] Indeede ſhe is a moſt freſh and delicate creature."
- 10 Light, or softly tinted; said of a colour.
"a delicate shade of blue"
- 11 Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
- 12 Highly discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite.
"a delicate taste"
- 13 Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes.
"a delicate thermometer"
Adjective
- 1 exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury wordnet
- 2 easily broken or damaged or destroyed wordnet
- 3 difficult to handle; requiring great tact wordnet
- 4 developed with extreme delicacy and subtlety wordnet
- 5 of an instrument or device; capable of registering minute differences or changes precisely wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 marked by great skill especially in meticulous technique wordnet
- 7 easily hurt wordnet
Example
"Those who are delicate in health are apt to catch a cold when the cold season sets in."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "delicate"?
Common synonyms include: fragile, abstruse, accommodating, accommodative, accurate, adept.
How do you use "delicate" in a sentence?
Those who are delicate in health are apt to catch a cold when the cold season sets in.
How do you pronounce "delicate"?
Pronounced /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/.
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 (“I allure, entice”), from dē- (“away”) + laciō (“I lure, I 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).