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
If only the general hadn’t been quite so ambitious.
—Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Without spoiling anything, Liberation’s ending doesn't quite stick the landing either.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
One was small, roughly the size of a quarter, while the other was quite large, just a bit smaller than a tennis ball.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2025
After building a little over 200 cars, TVR ceased production and hasn’t ever quite gotten going again.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quite
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Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Without spoiling anything, Liberation’s ending doesn't quite stick the landing either.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
One was small, roughly the size of a quarter, while the other was quite large, just a bit smaller than a tennis ball.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2025
After building a little over 200 cars, TVR ceased production and hasn’t ever quite gotten going again.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 28 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 31 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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