exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury; "a delicate violin passage"; "delicate china"; "a delicate flavor"; "the delicate wing of a butterfly"
easily broken or damaged or destroyed; "a kite too delicate to fly safely"; "fragile porcelain plates"; "fragile old bones"; "a frail craft"
difficult to handle; requiring great tact; "delicate negotiations with the big powers";"hesitates to be explicit on so ticklish a matter"; "a touchy subject"
of an instrument or device; capable of registering minute differences or changes precisely; "almost undetectable with even the most delicate instruments"
marked by great skill especially in meticulous technique; "a surgeon's delicate touch"
easily hurt; "soft hands"; "a baby's delicate skin"
very bad in degree or extent; "a severe worldwide depression"; "the house suffered severe damage"
unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or judgment; "a parent severe to the pitch of hostility"- H.G.Wells; "a hefty six-footer with a rather severe mien"; "a strict disciplinarian"; "a Spartan upbringing"
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality; "severe pain"; "a severe case of flu"; "a terrible cough"; "under wicked fire from the enemy's guns"; "a wicked cough"
a person who is frightened and in need of help; "they prey on the hopes of the desperate"
showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort; "made a last desperate attempt to reach the climber"; "the desperate gallantry of our naval task forces marked the turning point in the Pacific war"- G.C.Marshall; "they took heroic measures to save his life"
fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless; "a desperate illness"; "on all fronts the Allies were in a desperate situation due to lack of materiel"- G.C.Marshall; "a dire emergency"
showing extreme urgency or intensity especially because of great need or desire; "felt a desperate urge to confess"; "a desperate need for recognition"
desperately determined; "do-or-die revolutionaries"; "a do-or-die conflict"
(of persons) dangerously reckless or violent as from urgency or despair; "a desperate criminal"; "taken hostage of desperate men"