1
: wholly, completely
not quite finished
2
: to an extreme : positively
quite sure
—often used as an intensifier with aquite a swell guy
quite a beauty
3
: to a considerable extent : rather
quite near
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.
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.
Recent Examples on the Web
When asked about it in his pre-match press conference, Silva, quite fairly, dismissed its relevance in strong terms.
—Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
The hidden joke of their routines — what even a lot of the long-haired druggie types in the audience didn’t quite get — is that the counterculture was over.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Apr. 2025
Some Democrats in Congress apparently quite seriously considered carrying empty egg cartons to the address as a form of protest.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
McKenzie’s work can feel quite cold and scientific in that way, but again, the work is less about elevating personal perspective and just letting the facts speak — or shout — for themselves.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quite
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Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
The hidden joke of their routines — what even a lot of the long-haired druggie types in the audience didn’t quite get — is that the counterculture was over.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Apr. 2025
Some Democrats in Congress apparently quite seriously considered carrying empty egg cartons to the address as a form of protest.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
McKenzie’s work can feel quite cold and scientific in that way, but again, the work is less about elevating personal perspective and just letting the facts speak — or shout — for themselves.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quite
Cite this Entry
“Quite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quite. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
quite
adverb1
: beyond question or doubt : completely
quite alone
quite sure
2
: more or less sense 1, rather
we live quite near the school
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