Adjective
1. exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury;
"a delicate violin passage""delicate china""a delicate flavor""the delicate wing of a butterfly"2. marked by great skill especially in meticulous technique;
"a surgeon's delicate touch"3. easily broken or damaged or destroyed;
"a kite too delicate to fly safely""fragile porcelain plates""fragile old bones""a frail craft"4. easily hurt;
"soft hands""a baby's delicate skin"5. developed with extreme delicacy and subtlety;
"the satire touches with finespun ridicule every kind of human pretense"6. difficult to handle; requiring great tact;
"delicate negotiations with the big powers""hesitates to be explicit on so ticklish a matter"7. of an instrument or device; capable of registering minute differences or changes precisely;
"almost undetectable with even the most delicate instruments"