0
Riderdecade25 Posted 4 years ago
Grammar

What is the difference between "subtlety", "nuance", and "nicety"?

Take CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY, for example:

DEFINITIONS:

  1. SUBTLETY: a small but important detail; the quality or state of being subtle or hard to notice

  2. NUANCE: a very slight difference in appearance, meaning, sound, etc.

3 NICETY: a detail or small difference that is only obvious after careful thought

EXAMPLES:

  1. SUBTLETY:

All the subtleties of the music are conveyed in this new recording.

Listening to the interview, I was impressed by the subtlety of the questions.

  1. NUANCE:

The painter has managed to capture every nuance of the woman's expression.

Linguists explore the nuances of language.

  1. NICETY: They spent a lot of time arguing about legal niceties.

We don't bother with all the social niceties here.

In each of these examples, these three terms seem to convey the sense of "barely recognizable details or distinctions that the average layperson is unable to distinguish that only intelligent or experienced people can make out"

  

Top answer

Those three words are indeed similar, more similar than most trios of their kind. I'm afraid that the differences in usage among them can only be learned by years of reading and listening, and opinions will vary. I would say that in order of agency, first most engaged by an actor, they are "nicety", "subtlety", "nuance".

— Anonymous

  • Those three words are indeed similar, more similar than most trios of their kind.
  • I'm afraid that the differences in usage among them can only be learned by years of reading and listening, and opinions will vary.
  • I would say that in order of agency, first most engaged by an actor, they are "nicety", "subtlety", "nuance".
  • Loosely speaking, very loosely, a nicety is deliberate, a subtlety can be inadvertent, and a nuance is intrinsic and is only revealed in analysis.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

1 Answers
0

Those three words are indeed similar, more similar than most trios of their kind. I'm afraid that the differences in usage among them can only be learned by years of reading and listening, and opinions will vary. I would say that in order of agency, first most engaged by an actor, they are "nicety", "subtlety", "nuance". Loosely speaking, very loosely, a nicety is deliberate, a subtlety can be

0

Related Questions