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DELICACY
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Lightness in movement or manner
Synonyms:
airiness; delicacy
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("delicacy" is a kind of...):
life; liveliness; spirit; sprightliness (animation and energy in action or expression)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The quality of being beautiful and delicate in appearance
Example:
the fineness of her features
Synonyms:
daintiness; delicacy; fineness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("delicacy" is a kind of...):
elegance (a refined quality of gracefulness and good taste)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Subtly skillful handling of a situation
Synonyms:
delicacy; diplomacy; discreetness; finesse
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("delicacy" is a kind of...):
tact; tactfulness (consideration in dealing with others and avoiding giving offense)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Lack of physical strength
Synonyms:
delicacy; fragility
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("delicacy" is a kind of...):
weakness (the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Smallness of stature
Synonyms:
delicacy; slightness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("delicacy" is a kind of...):
littleness; smallness (the property of having a relatively small size)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Refined taste; tact
Synonyms:
delicacy; discretion
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("delicacy" is a kind of...):
appreciation; discernment; perceptiveness; taste (delicate discrimination (especially of aesthetic values))
Sense 7
Meaning:
Something considered choice to eat
Synonyms:
dainty; delicacy; goody; kickshaw; treat
Classified under:
Nouns denoting foods and drinks
Hypernyms ("delicacy" is a kind of...):
aliment; alimentation; nourishment; nutriment; nutrition; sustenance; victuals (a source of materials to nourish the body)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "delicacy"):
choice morsel; tidbit; titbit (a small tasty bit of food)
savory; savoury (an aromatic or spicy dish served at the end of dinner or as an hors d'oeuvre)
confection; sweet (a food rich in sugar)
ambrosia; nectar ((classical mythology) the food and drink of the gods; mortals who ate it became immortal)
gelatin; jelly (an edible jelly (sweet or pungent) made with gelatin and used as a dessert or salad base or a coating for foods)
bone marrow; marrow (very tender and very nutritious tissue from marrowbones)
Context examples:
The lazarette, where such delicacies were stored, was situated beneath the cabin floor.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Mr. Morris, with instinctive delicacy, just laid a hand for a moment on his shoulder, and then walked quietly out of the room.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
The circumstances are of great delicacy, and every precaution has to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense scandal and seriously compromise one of the reigning families of Europe.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Elinor thought this generosity overstrained, considering her sister's youth, and urged the matter farther, but in vain; common sense, common care, common prudence, were all sunk in Mrs. Dashwood's romantic delicacy.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
There might be scruples of delicacy, my dear Emma.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Are you lost to every feeling of propriety and delicacy?
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
They could not be the daughters of the elderly person at the table; for she looked like a rustic, and they were all delicacy and cultivation.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
What a supper I had of it that night, with all my friends around me; and what a meal it was, with Ben Gunn's salted goat and some delicacies and a bottle of old wine from the HISPANIOLA.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
While doing so, I shall make it my business, with infinite tact and delicacy, to throw out a few remarks which may arouse the interest of the audience and cause some of them to desire to go more deeply into the matter.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He glanced at the hand that held the brand, noticing the cunning delicacy of the fingers that gripped it, how they adjusted themselves to all the inequalities of the surface, curling over and under and about the rough wood, and one little finger, too close to the burning portion of the brand, sensitively and automatically writhing back from the hurtful heat to a cooler gripping-place; and in the same instant he seemed to see a vision of those same sensitive and delicate fingers being crushed and torn by the white teeth of the she-wolf.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
