subtle
/ˈsʌtl̩/
"subtle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“subtle” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,301 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #6,301
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Senses relating to tangible things.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | subtle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈsʌtl̩/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #6,301 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 12 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “subtle” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for subtle is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsʌtl̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,301 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 17 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for subtle, with forms such as "sbutle", "ssubtle", and "subbtle". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "suite", "subtly", "supple", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective is derived from Middle English sotil, soubtil, subtil (“of a person, the mind, etc.: clever, ingenious, penetrating; cunning, sly; insidious; delicate, fine; not dense, light, thin; finely powdered; narrow, slender; etc.”), borrowed from Anglo… The correct English form is subtle, spelled S-U-B-T-L-E.
Definition
- 1Senses relating to tangible things.
- 2Senses relating to tangible things.
- 3Senses relating to tangible things.
- 4Senses relating to tangible things.
- 5Senses relating to tangible things.
- 6Senses relating to tangible things.
- 7Senses relating to tangible things.
- 8Senses relating to intangible things.
- 9Senses relating to intangible things.
- 10Senses relating to intangible things.
- 11Senses relating to intangible things.
- 12Senses relating to intangible things.
- 13Senses relating to intangible things.
- 14Senses relating to intangible things.
- 15Senses relating to intangible things.
- 16Senses relating to intangible things.
- 17Senses relating to intangible things.
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Middle English sotil, soubtil, subtil (“of a person, the mind, etc.: clever, ingenious, penetrating; cunning, sly; insidious; delicate, fine; not dense, light, thin; finely powdered; narrow, slender; etc.”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman sotel, subtil, sutil, Middle French soutil, subtil, sutil, and Old French sotil, soutil, subtil, sutil (“of an object: skilfully designed or made; delicate, fine; slender, thin; of an intangible thing: difficult to understand; of a person: discerning, shrewd; devious, sly; etc.”) (modern French subtil), from Latin subtīlis (“of texture: delicate, fine; slender, thin; accurate, keen; having fine judgment; etc.”), from sub (“below, under”) + tēla (“warp (threads running lengthwise in a loom); web”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tetḱ- (“to create, produce; to cut, hew”), from *teḱ- (“to beget, sire”)). The word displaced Old English smēag (literally “creeping”). The modern and Middle English (and French) spellings with -b- are influenced by Latin subtīlis; the letter was probably never pronounced. The noun is derived from Middle English sotil, soubtil, subtil (“wise person; sophisticated people collectively”), from the adjective.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: sbutle,ssubtle,subbtle,sublte,subtel,subtlle,subttle,sutble,usbtle
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of subtle - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “subtle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-B-T-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsʌtl̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “suite” - see the side-by-side comparison. subtle vs suite
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.