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
However, the push was not quite enough to vote it out.
—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Scientists have found a way to make atoms dance with light, quite literally.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2025
What is most appealing about YoungBoy is that his music, quite frankly, is the sound of a man who is very much not well.
—Jayson Buford, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
Whether that spike is dangerous is not quite clear.
—Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quite
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Scientists have found a way to make atoms dance with light, quite literally.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2025
What is most appealing about YoungBoy is that his music, quite frankly, is the sound of a man who is very much not well.
—Jayson Buford, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
Whether that spike is dangerous is not quite clear.
—Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 30 Sep. 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 2 Oct. 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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