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
Among seismic sports television changes during the past 50 years, the NBA’s new media rights deal, one that officially begins this week, isn’t quite as earth-shaking as CBS losing the NFL to Fox in 1994 or ABC losing Monday Night Football in 2005.
—Barry Jackson
updated October 21, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2025
The film was produced by Sony Pictures as part of a slate sold to Netflix, but outside of some music rights (the music is, in fairness, quite popular), Netflix holds the IP rights, including to consumer products, Sony Pictures CEO Ravi Ahuja said last month.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
With its fragile, creamy structure, removing it from a regular baking pan can be quite tricky.
—Molly Allen, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025
Meditating my way into the natural world, as a daily practice, was quite restorative.
—Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quite
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Barry Jackson
updated October 21, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2025
The film was produced by Sony Pictures as part of a slate sold to Netflix, but outside of some music rights (the music is, in fairness, quite popular), Netflix holds the IP rights, including to consumer products, Sony Pictures CEO Ravi Ahuja said last month.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
With its fragile, creamy structure, removing it from a regular baking pan can be quite tricky.
—Molly Allen, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025
Meditating my way into the natural world, as a daily practice, was quite restorative.
—Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 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 23 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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