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
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was especially accurate on Monday, clocking four touchdown passes and handling the Raiders' defense quite easily.
—Anne Erickson, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Nov. 2025
Fielding went in the opposite direction, wearing quite enough collar and cuff for the both of them, and the two make a pretty cute picture together.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 17 Nov. 2025
This is a very fluffy family-friendly gay Christmas romcom with a not-quite-love-triangle and minimal drama.
—Sarah Neilson, Them., 17 Nov. 2025
The Lidia mule by Paris Texas, for example, has proven to be quite popular in the celebrity style world, with Emily Ratajkowski and Quinta Brunson among its fans.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quite
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Anne Erickson, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Nov. 2025
Fielding went in the opposite direction, wearing quite enough collar and cuff for the both of them, and the two make a pretty cute picture together.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 17 Nov. 2025
This is a very fluffy family-friendly gay Christmas romcom with a not-quite-love-triangle and minimal drama.
—Sarah Neilson, Them., 17 Nov. 2025
The Lidia mule by Paris Texas, for example, has proven to be quite popular in the celebrity style world, with Emily Ratajkowski and Quinta Brunson among its fans.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 17 Nov. 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 19 Nov. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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