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
This is quite intriguing because, typically, specialists fear losing their jobs to technology.
—Alexandr Khomich, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
Reggie Cooper, managing director at Hawks Cay, said having a Ford restaurant on the property was a huge benefit to the resort, which is located on Duck Key, almost (but not quite) midway between Key Largo and Key West.
—Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 11 Mar. 2025
But the name doesn’t quite fit the substance of the film, which ultimately says less about the things that shaped Mayfield than the people his music shaped.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 11 Mar. 2025
Will Smith can always count on his family to have his back — quite literally!
—Angel Saunders, People.com, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quite
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Alexandr Khomich, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
Reggie Cooper, managing director at Hawks Cay, said having a Ford restaurant on the property was a huge benefit to the resort, which is located on Duck Key, almost (but not quite) midway between Key Largo and Key West.
—Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 11 Mar. 2025
But the name doesn’t quite fit the substance of the film, which ultimately says less about the things that shaped Mayfield than the people his music shaped.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 11 Mar. 2025
Will Smith can always count on his family to have his back — quite literally!
—Angel Saunders, People.com, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quite
Articles Related to quite
Cite this Entry
“Quite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quite. Accessed 22 Mar. 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
Share