1. [adj]  exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury; "a delicate violin passage"; "delicate china"; "a delicate flavor"; "the delicate wing of a butterfly"
2. [adj]  easily broken or damaged or destroyed; "a kite too delicate to fly safely"; "fragile porcelain plates"; "fragile old bones"; "a frail craft"
3. [adj]  difficult to handle; requiring great tact; "delicate negotiations with the big powers"; "hesitates to be explicit on so ticklish a matter"
4. [adj]  developed with extreme delicacy and subtlety; "the satire touches with finespun ridicule every kind of human pretense"
5. [adj]  of an instrument or device; capable of registering minute differences or changes precisely; "almost undetectable with even the most delicate instruments"
6. [adj]  marked by great skill especially in meticulous technique; "a surgeon's delicate touch"
7. [adj]  easily hurt; "soft hands"; "a baby's delicate skin"

Delicate
This collection of 18 stories by NPR commentator Mary Sojourner is set in the American Southwest. Many of them are about middle-aged women who are divorced, lonely, and alone, but her characters also include men--usually men who have been damaged in some way, by everything from the Vietnam War to bad relationships.

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1. \Del"i*cate\, a. [L. delicatus pleasing the senses,
   voluptuous, soft and tender; akin to deliciae delight: cf. F.
   d['e]licat. See {Delight}.]
   1. Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring.
      [R.]
            Dives, for his delicate life, to the devil went.
                                                  --Piers
                                                  Plowman.
            Haarlem is a very delicate town.      --Evelyn.
   2. Pleasing to the senses; refinedly agreeable; hence,
      adapted to please a nice or cultivated taste; nice; fine;
      elegant; as, a delicate dish; delicate flavor.
   3. Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful; as, ``a delicate
      creature.'' --Shak.
   4. Fine or slender; minute; not coarse; -- said of a thread,
      or the like; as, delicate cotton.
   5. Slight or smooth; light and yielding; -- said of texture;
      as, delicate lace or silk.
   6. Soft and fair; -- said of the skin or a surface; as, a
      delicate cheek; a delicate complexion.
   7. Light, or softly tinted; -- said of a color; as, a
      delicate blue.
   8. Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend;
      considerate; -- said of manners, conduct, or feelings; as,
      delicate behavior; delicate attentions; delicate
      thoughtfulness.
   9. Tender; not able to endure hardship; feeble; frail;
      effeminate; -- said of constitution, health, etc.; as, a
      delicate child; delicate health.
            A delicate and tender prince.         --Shak.
   10. Requiring careful handling; not to be rudely or hastily
       dealt with; nice; critical; as, a delicate subject or
       question.
             There are some things too delicate and too sacred
             to be handled rudely without injury to truth. --F.
                                                  W. Robertson.
   11. Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
   12. Nicely discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical;
       sensitive; exquisite; as, a delicate taste; a delicate
       ear for music.
   13. Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes; as, a
       delicate thermometer.
   

2. \Del"i*cate\, n.
   1. A choice dainty; a delicacy. [R.]
            With abstinence all delicates he sees. --Dryden.
   2. A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person.
            All the vessels, then, which our delicates have, --
            those I mean that would seem to be more fine in
            their houses than their neighbors, -- are only of
            the Corinth metal.                    --Holland.