1
: wholly, completely
not quite finished
2
: to an extreme : positively
quite sure
often used as an intensifier with a
quite a swell guy
quite a beauty
3
: to a considerable extent : rather
quite near
Phrases
quite a bit
: a considerable amount
quite a few
: many

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.
Recent Examples on the Web Despite those similarities, the trials unfolded quite differently. Eric Levenson, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024 The dining room — spare and neutral in color, save for a wild mural depicting geometric symbols and a large jackrabbit — wasn’t quite full. Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024 And none of them quite knows how to love or be loved. Caroline Brew, Variety, 16 Mar. 2024 In 2021, the proud mom shared a hilarious story while appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show, revealing that her daughter had recently become quite stubborn. Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024 The nuts-and-bolts campaign efforts of strategizing, raising funds, courting delegates and resisting the push to drop out from fellow Black politicians like the slippery D.C. delegate Walter Fauntroy (André Holland) are quite absorbing, embroidered here and there with archival news footage. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Mar. 2024 Yes, the viewer isn’t quite sure what has thrown America into turmoil, beyond the fact that the president (played by Nick Offerman) has stayed in office past his term. David Sims, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024 For example, in someone 20 years of age, 200 beats per minute (bpm) is typical, with a range of 190 to 220, although 220 would be quite high and rare. Bryant Stamford, The Courier-Journal, 14 Mar. 2024 Nothing, apparently, captures the attention of the world quite like a missing princess. Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 14 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from quite, adjective, quit

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of quite was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near quite

Cite this Entry

“Quite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quite. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

quite

adverb
1
: 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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