The English Oracle

What's a negative word for "subtle"?

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Track title: Mysterious Puzzle

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Chapters
00:00 What'S A Negative Word For &Quot;Subtle&Quot;?
00:27 Accepted Answer Score 76
01:01 Answer 2 Score 54
01:25 Answer 3 Score 17
01:42 Answer 4 Score 5
01:55 Thank you

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Full question
https://english.stackexchange.com/questi...

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Tags
#singlewordrequests #wordchoice #adjectives

#avk47



ACCEPTED ANSWER

Score 76


Insidious is probably your best bet,

adjective
proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects.

(Google)

but you might also consider treacherous, which has the same connotation of remaining hidden and doing damage unexpectedly:

adjective
1. guilty of or involving betrayal or deception.
2. (of ground, water, conditions, etc.) presenting hidden or unpredictable dangers.

(Google)




ANSWER 2

Score 54


Elusive

adjective
difficult to find, catch, or achieve.

(oxforddictionaries.com)

Or, more fun and more negative:

Sneaky

adjective
1. furtive; sly.

(oxforddictionaries.com)




ANSWER 3

Score 17


Obscure is a possibility

hard to perceive

not readily seen

inconspicuous or unnoticeable

However, this would work better if it's a bug that's difficult to reproduce, rather than a bug which is difficult to find the cause of.

Ref: dictionary.reference.com




ANSWER 4

Score 5


pernicious

One adjective that comes to mind is " pernicious ".

Pernicious : having a harmful effect, especially in a harmful or subtle way.