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Definition of delicate : 1. A choice dainty; a delicacy.
2. A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person.
3. Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring.
4. Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes; as, a delicate thermometer.
5. Fine or slender; minute; not coarse; - said of a thread, or the like; as, delicate cotton.
6. Light, or softly tinted; - said of a color; as, a delicate blue.
7. Nicely discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite; as, a delicate taste; a delicate ear for music.
8. Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
9. Pleasing to the senses; refinedly agreeable; hence, adapted to please a nice or cultivated taste; nice; fine; elegant; as, a delicate dish; delicate flavor.
10. Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; - said of manners, conduct, or feelings; as, delicate behavior; delicate attentions; delicate thoughtfulness.
11. Requiring careful handling; not to be rudely or hastily dealt with; nice; critical; as, a delicate subject or question.
12. Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful; as, a delicate creature.
13. Slight or smooth; light and yielding; - said of texture; as, delicate lace or silk.
14. Soft and fair; - said of the skin or a surface; as, a delicate cheek; a delicate complexion.
15. Tender; not able to endure hardship; feeble; frail; effeminate; - said of constitution, health, etc.; as, a delicate child; delicate health.

Synonyms:

pinpoint, bedecked, trim, untoughened, bravura, sensitive, intolerable, bland, succulent, subtile, soothing, exquisite, smooth, prostrated, practiced, lithe, sticky, testing, fluent, supple, spiny, balmy, flimsy, softened, sinewy, thin, awkward, virtuoso, prostrate, rare, touchy, wasted, mild, effete, nice, sharp, unstable, vulnerable, enervated, easy, nuanced, deft, mellow, flabby, delicious, dangerous, balletic, wiry, diffused, down-and-out, palatable, nonabrasive, hairy, challenging, expert, indulgent, asthenic, prickly, touch-and-go, select, unsteady, bejeweled, pernickety, full, delicately balanced, decrepit, fallible, problematic, enfeebled, handsome, keen, weak, clear, decorative, subdued, insubstantial, ability, diplomatic, hard, willowy, spot-on, dexterous, feisty, wimpy, comminuted, catchy, dodgy, tactful, punishing, finespun, slender, tricksy, arduous, overdelicate, trying, ticklish, complicated, unsound, tough, strong, splendid, difficult, ethereal, busy, clarified, tasty, lean, skilled, excellent, flaccid, fussbudgety, gauzy, close, malnourished, impossible, benign, huffy, light-handed, debilitated, half-hardy, artful, unsubstantial, edible, good, languid, hairsplitting, piano, hairline, finicking, calm, fluid, sapped, be an effort, pastel, delicately, beaded, nasty, sickly, juicy, flavorful, embossed, voiced, tenuous, weakly, appetizing, ingestion, wimpish, masterly, politic, beautiful, quick, precarious, tender, tricky, knotty, masterful, workmanlike, intractable, crumbly, faint, lenient, big, polished, finical, feline, chintzy, pure, adroit, infirm, easygoing, recherché, cushy, old-maidish, diffuse, weakened, thin-skinned, fine, perceptive, taxing, imperfect, tangy, sonant, exact, mathematical, discreet, thorny, friable, emblazoned

exacting, picky, diligent, demanding, persnickety, careful, hypercritical, discerning, fussy, meticulous, rigorous, precise, prudish, Epicurean, flawless, fastidious, punctilious, discriminating, scrupulous, proper, perspicacious, squeamish, dainty, critical, correct, priggish, particular, conscientious, severe, finicky, accurate, prim, literal, mincing, methodical, qualmish, choosy

sick, feeble, susceptible

choice, elegant, aesthetic, tasteful, cultivated, charming, artistic, refined, classic, graceful

few, concise, low, narrow, succinct, brief

gentle, girlish, feminine, effeminate, soft, womanish, unmanly

crisp, fracturable, brittle, breakable, fragile, frangible, frail

implied, implicit, indirect, insinuated, subtle, elusive

feathery, buoyant, gossamer, light, weightless, airy

teeny-weeny, modest, diminutive, slim, scanty, scrawny, picayune, dwarfish, meager, toy, pocket, stingy, negligible, itty-bitty, teensy, wee, little, trifling, weeny, smallish, niggardly, small, deficient, tiny, miniature, microscopic, minute, teeny, piddling, compact, puny, spare, sparing, slight, short, nugatory, petite, paltry, baby, miserly, bantam, minimal, scant, ungenerous, beggarly, minor

Usage examples:

• The fact is, my business is rather peculiar, and delicate." - "Madeline Payne, the Detective's Daughter", Lawrence L. Lynch.
• She did not like to ask you herself; she is too delicate." - "The Memoires of Casanova, Complete The Rare Unabridged London Edition Of 1894, plus An Unpublished Chapter of History, By Arthur Symons", Jacques Casanova de Seingalt.
• It's a rather delicate matter, my child. - "Grace Harlowe's Golden Summer", Jessie Graham Flower.