The difference between Simple and Subtle

When used as adjectives, simple means uncomplicated, whereas subtle means hard to grasp.

Simple is also noun with the meaning: a herbal preparation made from one plant, as opposed to something made from more than one plant.

Simple is also verb with the meaning: to gather simples, i.e., medicinal herbs.

check bellow for the other definitions of Simple and Subtle

  1. Simple as an adjective:

    Uncomplicated; taken by itself, with nothing added.

  2. Simple as an adjective:

    Without ornamentation; plain.

  3. Simple as an adjective:

    Free from duplicity; guileless, innocent, straightforward.

  4. Simple as an adjective:

    Undistinguished in social condition; of no special rank.

  5. Simple as an adjective (now, rare):

    Trivial; insignificant.

  6. Simple as an adjective (now, colloquial):

    Feeble-minded; foolish.

  7. Simple as an adjective (technical):

    Structurally uncomplicated. Consisting of one single substance; uncompounded. Of a group: having no normal subgroup. Not compound, but possibly lobed. Using steam only once in its cylinders, in contrast to a compound engine, where steam is used more than once in high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders. Consisting of a single individual or zooid; not compound. Homogenous.

    Examples:

    "a simple ascidian"

  8. Simple as an adjective (obsolete):

    Mere; not other than; being only.

  1. Simple as a noun (medicine):

    A herbal preparation made from one plant, as opposed to something made from more than one plant.

  2. Simple as a noun (obsolete):

    A term for a physician, derived from the medicinal term above.

  3. Simple as a noun (logic):

    A simple or atomic proposition.

  4. Simple as a noun (obsolete):

    Something not mixed or compounded.

  5. Simple as a noun (weaving):

    A drawloom.

  6. Simple as a noun (weaving):

    Part of the apparatus for raising the heddles of a drawloom.

  7. Simple as a noun (Roman Catholic):

    A feast which is not a double or a semidouble.

  1. Simple as a verb (transitive, intransitive, archaic):

    To gather simples, i.e., medicinal herbs.

  1. Subtle as an adjective:

    Hard to grasp; not obvious or easily understood; barely noticeable.

    Examples:

    "The difference is subtle, but you can hear it if you listen carefully."

  2. Subtle as an adjective (of a thing):

    Cleverly contrived.

  3. Subtle as an adjective (of a person or animal):

    Cunning, skillful.

  4. Subtle as an adjective:

    Insidious, deceptive, malicious.

  5. Subtle as an adjective:

    Tenuous; rarefied; of low density or thin consistency.

  6. Subtle as an adjective (obsolete):

    Refined; exquisite.

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