SUBTLETY

n. 1 refinement, nicety, delicacy, exquisiteness, intricacy, fineness, acuteness, elegance, sophistication The subtlety of the detail in this work is quite unique One must admire the subtlety of expression in her writing. 2 treachery, guile, insidiousness, casuistry, cunning, artfulness, craftiness, deviousness, slyness, deceptiveness The subtlety of her deception was revealed only after the war