delicacy
12
5.8
- noun
- /ˈdɛlɪkəsi/
:
tacto
- You need to approach this conversation with proper delicacy to avoid hurting her feelings.
- with great delicacy
- with even greater delicacy
There was something that made, you know, he he approached things with all the delicacy of a claw hammer.
- There was something that made, you know, he he approached things with all the delicacy of a claw hammer.
Examples
-
"Thank you for choosing your words with such delicacy, as usual."
Fiction book (1997) -
Of course, it's gonna take tact and delicacy.
-
Or do you think he held back, out of delicacy towards you?
-
A job that demands skill and delicacy.
-
This matter must be handled with delicacy.
-
You don't understand the delicacy of the situation.
-
I explained that transplanting a forest was a job of great delicacy and expense.
Fiction book (1992) -
Each needed to be handled with delicacy by the Chinese decision-makers.
Academic text (1997) -
That's the very reason I have tried to handle these negotiations with delicacy and discretion.
Fiction book (1992) -
A matter of the highest sensitivity, requiring the utmost delicacy and discretion.
Fiction book (1995)
Synonyms
201
3.7
Skill in carefully managing talks and relations between people or countries
57
4.6
Ability to make careful choices and keep private things secret
35
6.8
Careful, skilled handling of a difficult or sensitive situation
26
3.5
To say or do things carefully so you do not upset other people
Careful and kind behavior when dealing with people to avoid hurting them
Careful, gentle way of dealing with people or difficult situations
Being calm and careful when dealing with difficult or sensitive situations
Care in speech and actions to avoid embarrassing or hurting others
Calm, polite, graceful behavior when people watch or question you
Antonyms
Compounds
How Tactful
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Delicacy comes from the Latin delicatus, which meant 'tender' and 'pleasure', and it is the same root as the adjective delicate. So doing something with delicacy means handling people or situations with careful skill and sensitivity.