quite

adverb

ˈkwīt

Synonyms of quite next

: wholly, completely

not quite finished

: to an extreme : positively

quite sure

—often used as an intensifier with a

quite a swell guy

quite a beauty

: to a considerable extent : rather

quite near

Phrases

quite a bit

: a considerable amount

quite a few

: many

Examples of quite in a Sentence

He felt that the world he had loved had quite gone. —

Edmund Wilson, New York Times Book Review, 20 July 1986

The men who made love to the left-wing college girls were either medical students, who had contempt for them and forgot them, or jocks, who bragged falsely of having made conquests of quite other girls. —

Renata Adler, Pitch Dark, 1983

In my opinion, my work … ain't quite good enough … —

William Faulkner, in Faulkner in the University, (1959) 1977

Irene Franey, a little older than I, was quite a beauty —

John O'Hara, letter, 30 Dec. 1963

“Are you quite finished?” “Not quite.” I am quite capable of doing it myself, thank you. They assured me that I was quite mistaken. We hadn't quite made up our minds. She's quite right, you know. I quite forgot your birthday. No one realized quite what was happening. Quite why he left is unclear. That is not quite what I said. See More

Recent Examples on the Web But no society has embraced the mullet quite like Australia, where the cut enjoyed cult status in the 1980s. —

Michael E. Miller, Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2023 Canister vacuums can be quite pricey, but this model from Black+Decker is a budget-friendly choice, retailing for less than $125. —

Camryn Rabideau, Peoplemag, 6 Dec. 2023 No noise band has put that feeling of brutal catharsis to music quite like Mandy, Indiana. —

Pitchfork, 6 Dec. 2023 But no one has made an entrance quite as striking as Miami’s. —

Brett Sokol, New York Times, 5 Dec. 2023 More roads now are paved, but most side streets, including roads to major wineries, hotels and restaurants, are still dirt and often quite rough and muddy during the rainy season. —

Nicole Sours Larson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Dec. 2023 While Trump's dominance made the path for marginal candidates like Scott and Christie vanishingly narrow quite early in the race, qualification rules may serve as a nail in the coffin. —

Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 4 Dec. 2023 But although a sliver of West Hollywood touches Beverly Hills, the cities are quite different in demographics and wealth. —

Don Lee, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2023 No one knows women’s shoes quite like Giuseppe Zanotti! —

Micaela Arnett, Rolling Stone, 24 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.