Definition of delicacy

• a. - The state or condition of being delicate; agreeableness to the senses; delightfulness; as, delicacy of flavor, of odor, and the like.
• a. - Nicety or fineness of form, texture, or constitution; softness; elegance; smoothness; tenderness; and hence, frailty or weakness; as, the delicacy of a fiber or a thread; delicacy of a hand or of the human form; delicacy of the skin; delicacy of frame.
• a. - Nice propriety of manners or conduct; susceptibility or tenderness of feeling; refinement; fastidiousness; and hence, in an exaggerated sense, effeminacy; as, great delicacy of behavior; delicacy in doing a kindness; delicacy of character that unfits for earnest action.
• a. - Addiction to pleasure; luxury; daintiness; indulgence; luxurious or voluptuous treatment.
• a. - Nice and refined perception and discrimination; critical niceness; fastidious accuracy.
• a. - The state of being affected by slight causes; sensitiveness; as, the delicacy of a chemist's balance.
• a. - That which is alluring, delicate, or refined; a luxury or pleasure; something pleasant to the senses, especially to the sense of taste; a dainty; as, delicacies of the table.
• a. - Pleasure; gratification; delight.