quality

¹qual·i·ty

noun \ˈkwä-lə-tē\

plural qual·i·ties

Definition of QUALITY

1

a : peculiar and essential character : nature <her ethereal quality — Gay Talese>

b : an inherent feature : property <had a quality of stridence, dissonance — Roald Dahl>

c : capacity, role <in the quality of reader and companion — Joseph Conrad>

2

a : degree of excellence : grade <the quality of competing air service — Current Biography>

b : superiority in kind <merchandise of quality>

3

a : social status : rank

b : aristocracy

4

a : a distinguishing attribute : characteristic <possesses many fine qualities>

b archaic : an acquired skill : accomplishment

5

: the character in a logical proposition of being affirmative or negative

6

: vividness of hue

7

a : timbre

b : the identifying character of a vowel sound determined chiefly by the resonance of the vocal chambers in uttering it

8

: the attribute of an elementary sensation that makes it fundamentally unlike any other sensation

Examples of QUALITY

1. Honesty is a desirable quality.
2. Stubbornness is one of his bad qualities.
3. She has strong leadership qualities.
4. The house has many fine qualities.
5. His music has a primitive quality.
6. They offer quality at a reasonable price.

Origin of QUALITY

Middle English qualite, from Anglo-French qualité, from Latin qualitat-, qualitas, from qualis of what kind; akin to Latin qui who — more at who

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to QUALITY

Synonyms

caliber (or calibre), class, grade, rate

Antonyms

proletarians, proletariat

Related Words

hallmark; mark; footing, place, position, rank, standing, stature, status; benchmark, criterion, measure, par, standard, touchstone, yardstick

Near Antonyms

debasement, degradation; subordinateness, subordination; baseness, commonness, inferiority, lowliness, lowness

Synonym Discussion of QUALITY

quality, property, character, attribute mean an intelligible feature by which a thing may be identified. quality is a general term applicable to any trait or characteristic whether individual or generic <material with a silky quality>. property implies a characteristic that belongs to a thing's essential nature and may be used to describe a type or species <the property of not conducting heat>. character applies to a peculiar and distinctive quality of a thing or a class <remarks of an unseemly character>. attribute implies a quality ascribed to a thing or a being <the attributes of a military hero>.

Rhymes with QUALITY

jollity, polity

²quality

adjective

Definition of QUALITY

: being of high quality

Examples of QUALITY

1. The restaurant offers quality service.
2. The store sells quality furniture at reasonable prices.
3. It can be difficult to find quality childcare.
4. He had a quality education.

First Known Use of QUALITY

1936

Related to QUALITY

Synonyms

A-OK, A1, awesome, bang-up, banner, beautiful, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, boffo, bonny (also bonnie) [chiefly British], boss [slang], brag, brave, bully, bumper, capital, choice, classic, cool [slang], corking, crackerjack, cracking, dandy, divine, dope [slang], down [slang], dynamite, fab, fabulous, famous, fantabulous [slang], fantastic, fine, first-class, first-rate, first-string, five-star, four-star, frontline, gangbusters (also gangbuster), gilt-edged (or gilt-edge), gone [slang], grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-class, hot, hype [slang], immense, jim-dandy, keen, lovely, marvelous (or marvellous), mean, neat, nifty, noble, number one (also No. 1), numero uno, out-of-sight [slang], par excellence, peachy, peachy keen, phat [slang], prime, primo [slang], prize, prizewinning, excellent, radical [slang], righteous [slang], sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-flight, top-notch, top-of-the-line, topping [chiefly British], top-shelf, unsurpassed, wizard [chiefly British], wonderful

Antonyms

atrocious, awful, execrable, lousy, pathetic, poor, rotten, terrible, vile, wretched

Related Words

acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, good, OK (or okay), passable, satisfactory, tolerable; better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, high-test, premium, select, special, superfine; classical, standard, traditional

Near Antonyms

bad, inferior, low-grade, substandard, unsatisfactory; mediocre, middling, second-class, second-rate

qual·i·ty

noun \ˈkwäl-ət-ē\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural ; qual·i·ties

Medical Definition of QUALITY

: a special or distinguishing attribute: as a : timbre b : the attribute of an elementary sensation that makes it fundamentally unlike any other sensation c : the character of an X-ray beam that determines its penetrating power and is dependent upon its wavelength distribution

quality

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

In philosophy, a property that applies to things taken singly, in contrast to a relation, which applies to things taken in pairs, triples, etc. The distinction drawn by Galileo and John Locke between primary and secondary qualities is motivated by the fact that modern science seems to reveal that unaided sensory perception gives false or incomplete information about the intrinsic qualities of physical objects. In this view, primary qualities, such as shape, quantity, and motion, are genuine properties of things that are describable by mathematics, whereas secondary qualities, such as odour, taste, sound, and colour, exist only in human consciousness.