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
Halper, of Top Ten Liquors, isn’t quite sure what to expect from the federal government.
—Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN Money, 10 May 2025
When that happens, their buzzing calls used to attract mates are quite loud.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 10 May 2025
For most, however, Revere faded into quaint memory, a hero not quite forgotten but not well remembered.
—John Baldoni, Forbes.com, 10 May 2025
Montverde won the final event, the 4×400 relay, in 3 minutes 45.5 seconds but that wasn’t quite enough.
—Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for quite
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN Money, 10 May 2025
When that happens, their buzzing calls used to attract mates are quite loud.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 10 May 2025
For most, however, Revere faded into quaint memory, a hero not quite forgotten but not well remembered.
—John Baldoni, Forbes.com, 10 May 2025
Montverde won the final event, the 4×400 relay, in 3 minutes 45.5 seconds but that wasn’t quite enough.
—Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 May 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 17 May. 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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