What's The Opposite Of Subtlety?

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The discussion revolves around finding antonyms for the word "subtlety." Participants suggest various terms including "blatant," "overt," "crass," and "obvious." There is a debate about the implications of these antonyms, with some arguing that subtlety and its opposites are context-dependent and neither inherently good nor bad. The term "blatancy" is confirmed as a valid word, and there is a focus on the nuances of language, including the distinction between adjectives and nouns. The conversation also touches on the idea that the absence of subtlety does not necessarily imply a positive or negative quality, but rather a lack of nuance. Overall, the consensus leans towards "blatant" and "overt" as suitable opposites of subtlety, while acknowledging the complexity of language and meaning.
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I'd say plump.
 
Try:
overt
crass
obvious
persistent

[Edit: I am deriving antonyms for subtle.]
 
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blatant is a good word.
disclosure: I did that using I.I. (Innate Intellegence)
 
Please stop mixing adjectives and nouns, people. This is painful to watch. :wink:

(Just another helpful PSA from the Grammar Police...)[/size]
 
I gave both!!
 
hutchphd said:
blatant is a good word.
hutchphd said:
I gave both!!
Which what where? :smile:
 
I augmented it before your (reasonable) complaint dropped. Or at least before I saw it.......!
Edit: OOps I guess I screwed up. Here is my revision

blatant is a good word.
disclosure: I did that using I.I. (Innate Intellegence). Is blatancy a word?
 
Blatant is a good word, the best of words, even.

Also, could not subtlety be a noun and an adverb?

He subtlety subtly inserted an ambiguous term in the sentence. His subtlety being legion.

[Edit2: Correction. The adverb lacks the "e". The joke still works but the spelling does not.]
 
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  • #10
And blatancy is a real word! I did look that up......
 
  • #11
Klystron said:
Blatant is a good word, the best of words, even.

Also, could not subtlety be a noun and an adverb?

He subtlety inserted an ambiguous term in the sentence. His subtlety being legion.
Not in the English language.

He subtly inserted... (A word I would have spelled wrong. Arrggg! I meant I would have spelled it wrongly.)
 
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  • #12
hutchphd said:
Is blatancy a word?
Hmm, consulting the Scrabble Dictionary now. Back in a miniteness... :wink:
 
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  • #13
hutchphd said:
And blatancy is a real word! I did look that up......
References please!
 
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  • #14
My objection is that there seems to be an assumption that subtlety is good and its opposite is bad. I don't believe that. They both have their uses.
 
  • #15
Hornbein said:
an assumption that subtlety is good and its opposite is bad.
The adjectives subtle and obvious are neither good nor bad without context, IMO.
 
  • #16
Crudeness, rudeness, or ingenuousness.

Others, according to Reverso:
  • Stupidity
  • Roughness
  • Coarseness
  • Artlessness
  • Clumsiness
  • Sincerity
 
  • #17
jack action said:
Crudeness, rudeness, or ingenuousness.

Others, according to Reverso:
  • Stupidity
  • Roughness
  • Coarseness
  • Artlessness
  • Clumsiness
  • Sincerity
As antonyms of Subtlety? Yikes, I'd delete that bookmark if I were you. :wink:
 
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  • #19
I guess what I'm looking for is forcefulness. It took me 14 hours to come up with that.
 
  • #20
What about unsubtlety?
 
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  • #21
Brass? Gall? Nerve?....
 
  • #22
Curiously, in-your-face has an entry on merriam-webster. :)
 
  • #23
Obviousness
(obviously!)
 
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  • #24
Blatancy I would say is a better polar opposite of subtlety*.

Forcefulness would be the polar opposite of something more like delicacy.


*dont care what M-W says, I will always spell it this way.
 
  • #25
Maybe "blunt" could be it?
 
  • #26
marcusl said:
Obviousness
(obviously!)
I like this one. I have never seen or heard this word used before, but why should that stop us?
 
  • #27
Hornbein said:
I like this one. I have never seen or heard this word used before, but why should that stop us?
Obviously due to its obviousness....
 
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  • #28
PeroK said:
What about unsubtlety?
After much pensive retrospection I've concluded you are right. There is no quality that arises when subtlety is removed. There's only subtlety and its absence.
 
  • #29
carterluke said:
The opposite of subtlety is overt and blatant behavior or communication, lacking nuance and delicacy.
That's opposite meaning, sure. Can you find a single word solution?

carterluke said:
you can check here [spam link deleted by the Mentors]
That does not seem to do what you claim it does.
 
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  • #30
I guess blatantcy is a word.
 

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