Quite or Quiet | Difference & Meaning
Quiet is the opposite of “loud” or “noisy,” while quite means “very” (e.g., “It’s quite expensive”) or “completely” (e.g., “He’s quite wrong”).
- Quiet is an adjective (e.g., “a quiet night”) or a noun (e.g., “peace and quiet”). It has two syllables ( ).
- Quite is an adverb and has one syllable ( ). It “intensifies” an adjective or adverb more than “fairly,” but a bit less than “very.”
| Quiet in a sentence examples | Quite in a sentence examples |
|---|---|
| My new computer is very quiet; I can hardly hear that it’s switched on. | The chair’s quite comfortable, thanks. |
| Can we have some quiet, please? Claire would like to say a few words. | You did quite well for a first attempt. |
So, if a British person says that “the food was quite good,” they mean that the food was “moderately good” or “okay” but not that the food was “very good.”
In American English, quite can be used as a direct substitute for “very” with gradable adjectives. So, if an American person says “the food was quite good,” they mean it was “very good.” However, it is also often used in the US in the “British” sense to express that the gradable adjective or adverb it modifies is somewhat surprising (e.g., “She did quite well considering how little she had prepared”). In this case, the meaning is closer to “fairly” or “rather.” Context is usually required to determine in what sense quite is being used.
Quite meaning
The adverb quite is similar in meaning to “very” when used to “intensify” adjectives and adverbs that can also be modified with adverbs like “pretty” and “extremely” (i.e., that are gradable). But it modifies these words with slightly less intensity than “very.”
When quite is used to intensify adjectives and adverbs that can also be modified with adverbs like “absolutely” and “entirely” (i.e., that are non-gradable or absolute), it means “completely” or “totally.” This usage of “quite” can sound old-fashioned in modern English. Nowadays, we typically use the alternative “absolutely” in these contexts.
| Quite meaning “very” with a gradable adjective/adverb | Quite meaning “completely” or “totally” with a non-gradable adjective/adverb |
|---|---|
| The room is quite cold. | The room is quite freezing. |
| He feels quite angry about it. | He feels quite furious about it. |
| She was quite late for the meeting, actually. | The delay was quite unavoidable. |
Not quite always means “not completely” or “not totally.”
No, that’s not quite right, actually.
When used before a noun, “quite a” or “quite some” emphasizes how “big,” “important,” or “impressive” something is. When used before an adjective followed by a noun, “quite a” intensifies the adjective more than “fairly” but a bit less than “very.”
It was quite a fancy hotel with marble floors and a rooftop pool.
Quite a few
“Quite a few,” “quite a lot,” and “quite a bit” all mean “a significant number/amount (of).”
I managed to get quite a lot of work done over the weekend.
You can save quite a bit of money by shopping around.
Quiet meaning
The adjective quiet means the opposite of “noisy” or “loud.” It can also mean “peaceful” or “discreet” or refer to someone who does not speak very much or is a bit “shy” or “reserved.”
It’s very quiet at night here; I’m used to the noise of the city.
He certainly hasn’t been very quiet about it; I think he’s told half the office already.
She can be a bit quiet at first, but she’s really quite chatty once you get to know her.
Quiet is also a noun meaning “peace” or “absence of noise.”
She cleared her voice, and a sudden quiet fell over the room.
We were busy all day and didn’t have a moment of quiet.
Frequently asked questions about quite or quiet
- What does peace and quiet mean?
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The phrase peace and quiet refers to a state of calm where there is little noise or activity to disturb you (e.g., “There’s a big park nearby where you can go for some peace and quiet”).
On a related note, if you’re not sure whether you need the word quite or quiet, “quite” normally means “very” or “completely.”
Have you tried QuillBot’s free Paraphraser? You can use it to find alternatives to the phrase “peace and quiet” in your writing.
- What does quieten mean?
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The verb quieten means to “make or become calm or quiet” and is mainly used in British English. The alternative “quiet” is much more common in American English.
Quieten in a sentence examples She tried to quieten the baby by singing to it.The crowd suddenly quietened as he stepped on the stage.
This statement will do little to quieten his critics.
On a related note, if you’re not sure whether quite or quiet is the word you’re looking for, “quite” typically means “very” or “totally.”
You can use QuillBot’s free Paraphraser to help you find synonyms for the verb “quieten” in your writing.
- What does awfully quiet mean?
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Awfully quiet means “very quiet.” It is typically used to describe a person who is being unusually silent (e.g., “You’ve been awfully quiet all day; is everything OK?”).
On a related note, if you’re not certain whether the word you’re looking for is quite or quiet, “quite” usually means “very” or “completely.”
Have you tried QuillBot’s free Paraphraser? You can use it to help you find other ways of expressing “awfully quiet” in your writing, such as “not said a word.
- What does quiet quitting mean?
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The concept of quiet quitting refers to the workplace. If someone is quiet quitting, they are not putting much effort into fulfilling their work duties—just enough to avoid being fired. This might be because they feel tired, overworked, or undervalued or are reserving energy for life outside of work. They do not actually quit because they are content to continue with this level of effort, perhaps while waiting for a better opportunity to present itself.
On a related note, if you’re sometimes confused about whether the word you need is quite or quiet, “quite” typically means “very” or “totally.”
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you pick up typos like writing “quite” instead of “quiet,” or vice versa.
