Fine vs Sharp - What's the difference?
fine | sharp | Synonyms |
(lb) Of subjective quality.
#Of superior quality.
#:
#*
#*:"A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there.."
#(lb) Being acceptable, adequate, passable, or satisfactory.
#:
#*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=3
, passage=Now all this was very fine , but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.}}
#(lb) Good-looking, attractive.
#:
#*, chapter=10
, title= #Subtle, delicately balanced.
#*The Independent
#*:The fine distinction between lender of last resort and a bail-out
#(lb) Showy; overdecorated.
#*(Matthew Arnold) (1822-1888)
#*:He gratified them with occasionalfine writing.
#Delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; dexterous.
#*(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
#*:The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine !
#*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
#*:The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery.
#*(Thomas Gray) (1716-1771)
#*:He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman.
(lb) Of objective quality.
#Of a particular grade of quality, usually between very good'' and ''very fine'', and below ''mint .
#:
#(lb) Sunny and not raining.
#*, chapter=23
, title= #Consisting of especially minute particulate; made up of particularly small pieces.
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#Particularly slender; especially thin, narrow, or of small girth.
#:
#Made of slender or thin filaments.
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#Having a (specified) proportion of pure metal in its composition.
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(lb) Behind the batsman and at a small angle to the line between the wickets.
:
(lb) Subtle; thin; tenuous.
*(Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
*:The eye standeth in the finer medium and the object in the grosser.
expression of agreement
well, nicely, in a positive way
Fine champagne; French brandy.
* 1926 , Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises , Scribner 2003, p. 14:
* 1936 , Djuna Barnes, Nightwood , Faber & Faber 2007, p. 18:
(usually, in the plural) something that is fine; fine particles
* They filtered silt and fines out of the soil.
to make finer, purer, or cleaner; to purify or clarify.
* Hobbes
to become finer, purer, or cleaner.
To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.
To change by fine gradations.
* Browning
to clarify (wine and beer) by filtration.
A fee levied as punishment for breaking the law.
* The fine for jay-walking has gone from two dollars to thirty in the last fifteen years.
* {{quote-book, year=2006, author=
, title=Internal Combustion
, chapter=2 To issue a fine as punishment to (someone).
* She was fined a thousand dollars for littering, but she appealed.
To pay a fine.
* Hallam
(music) The end of a musical composition.
(music) The location in a musical score that indicates the end of the piece, particularly when the piece ends somewhere in the middle of the score due to a section of the music being repeated.
(obsolete) To finish; to cease.
(obsolete) To cause to cease; to stop.
(obsolete) End; conclusion; termination; extinction.
* Spenser
* Shakespeare
A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal.
(UK, legal) A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease.
(Webster 1913)
Able to cut easily.
:
*
*:Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
(lb) Intelligent.
:
* {{quote-news, author=(Jesse Jackson), title=In the Ferguson era, Malcolm X’s courage in fighting racism inspires more than ever, work=(The Guardian) (London), date=20 February 2015
, passage=At school, despite his sharp mind, Malcolm was laughed at by teachers when he said he wanted to be a lawyer. }}
Terminating in a point or edge; not obtuse or rounded.
:
:
(lb) Higher than usual by one semitone (denoted by the symbol after the name of the note).
(lb) Higher in pitch than required.
:
Having an intense, acrid flavour.''
:
Sudden and intense.
:
*
*:She wakened in sharp panic, bewildered by the grotesquerie of some half-remembered dream in contrast with the harshness of inclement fact.
(lb) Illegal or dishonest.
:
(lb) Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interests; shrewd.
:
*(Jonathan Swift) (1667–1745)
*:the necessity of being so sharp and exacting
Exact, precise, accurate; keen.
:
*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=
, magazine=(American Scientist), title= Offensive, critical, or acrimonious.
:
(lb) Stylish or attractive.
:
Observant; alert; acute.
:
Forming a small angle; forming an angle of less than ninety degrees.
:
*1900 , , (The House Behind the Cedars) , Chapter I,
*:The street down which Warwick had come intersected Front Street at a sharp angle in front of the old hotel, forming a sort of flatiron block at the junction, known as Liberty Point
Steep; precipitous; abrupt.
:
Said of as extreme a value as possible.
:
(lb) Tactical; risky.
*1963 , Max Euwe, Chess Master Vs. Chess Amateur (page xviii)
*:Time and time again, the amateur player has lost the opportunity to make the really best move because he felt bound to follow some chess "rule" he had learned, rather than to make the sharp move which was indicated by the position.
*1975 , Lud?k Pachman, Decisive Games in Chess History (page 64)
*:In such situations most chess players choose the ohvious and logical way: they go in for sharp play. However, not everyone is a natural attacking player
Piercing; keen; severe; painful.
:
*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
*:Sharp misery had worn him to the bones.
*(William Cowper) (1731-1800)
*:the morning sharp and clear
*(John Keble) (1792-1866)
*:in sharpest perils faithful proved
Eager or keen in pursuit; impatient for gratification.
:
(lb) Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous.
*(John Milton) (1608-1674)
*:in sharp contest of battle
*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
*:A sharp assault already is begun.
Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty.
:
:(Edward Moxon)
Uttered in a whisper, or with the breath alone; aspirated; unvoiced.
To a point or edge; piercingly; eagerly; sharply.
* Shakespeare
(notcomp) Exactly.
(music) In a higher pitch than is correct or desirable.
(music) The symbol ?, placed after the name of a note in the key signature or before a note on the staff to indicate that the note is to be played a semitone higher.
(music) A note that is played a semitone higher than usual; denoted by the name of the note that is followed by the symbol ?.
(music) A note that is sharp in a particular key.
(music) The scale having a particular sharp note as its tonic.
(usually, in the plural) Something that is sharp.
A sharp tool or weapon.
* Collier
(medicine) A hypodermic syringe.
(medicine, dated) A scalpel or other edged instrument used in surgery.
A dishonest person; a cheater.
Part of a stream where the water runs very rapidly.
A sewing needle with a very slender point, more pointed than a blunt or a between.
(in the plural) middlings
(slang, dated) An expert.
A sharpie (member of Australian gangs of the 1960s and 1970s).
* 2006 , Iain McIntyre, Tomorrow Is Today: Australia in the Psychedelic Era, 1966-1970
(music) To raise the pitch of a note half a step making a natural note a sharp.
To play tricks in bargaining; to act the sharper.
In obsolete terms the difference between fine and sharp
is that fine is end; conclusion; termination; extinction while sharp is fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous.In usually in the plural terms the difference between fine and sharp
is that fine is something that is fine; fine particles while sharp is something that is sharp.In lang=en terms the difference between fine and sharp
is that fine is the location in a musical score that indicates the end of the piece, particularly when the piece ends somewhere in the middle of the score due to a section of the music being repeated while sharp is to raise the pitch of a note half a step making a natural note a sharp.As adjectives the difference between fine and sharp
is that fine is Of subjective quality.sharp is able to cut easily.As adverbs the difference between fine and sharp
is that fine is expression of agreementsharp is to a point or edge; piercingly; eagerly; sharply.As nouns the difference between fine and sharp
is that fine is fine champagne; French brandy while sharp is the symbol ♯, placed after the name of a note in the key signature or before a note on the staff to indicate that the note is to be played a semitone higher.As verbs the difference between fine and sharp
is that fine is to make finer, purer, or cleaner; to purify or clarify while sharp is to raise the pitch of a note half a step making a natural note a sharp.As a proper noun Sharp is
{{surname}.fine
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) fin, from (etyl) .Adjective
(er)The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.}}
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=If the afternoon was fine they strolled together in the park, very slowly, and with pauses to draw breath wherever the ground sloped upward. The slightest effort made the patient cough.}}
Synonyms
* (of superior quality) good, excellent * (informal) (being acceptable, adequate, passable, or satisfactory ): all right, ok, , okay, hunky-dory, kosher * (made up of particularly small pieces) fine-grained, powdered, powdery, pulverised, pulverized, small-grained * (made of slender or thin filaments) fine-threadedAntonyms
* (made up of particularly small pieces) coarse * (made of slender or thin filaments) coarseAdverb
(en adverb)- Everything worked out fine.
Synonyms
* (expression of agreement) all right, alright, OK, very wellNoun
(en noun)- We had dined at l'Avenue's, and afterward went to the Café de Versailles for coffee. We had several fines after the coffee, and I said I must be going.
- He refilled his glass. ‘The fine is very good,’ he said.
Usage notes
Particularly used in plural as fines of ground coffee beans in espresso making.See also
* filingVerb
(fin)- to fine gold
- It hath been fined and refined by learned men.
- to fine the soil
- to fine down a ship's lines, i.e. to diminish her lines gradually
- I often sate at home / On evenings, watching how they fined themselves / With gradual conscience to a perfect night.
Synonyms
* (to make or become finer, purer, or cleaner ): clarify, refine, purifyDerived terms
* chance'd be a fine thing * cut it fine * fine art * fine as frog hair * fine feathers make fine birds * fine-grained * fine leg * fine line * finely * fineness * fine print * fine-structure constant * fine-tooth comb * fine-tune * fine words butter no parsnips * * just fine * to a fine fare-thee-wellEtymology 2
(etyl)Noun
(en noun)citation, passage=The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.}}
Synonyms
* amercementVerb
- Men fined' for the king's good will; or that he would remit his anger; women ' fined for leave to marry.
Synonyms
* amerceEtymology 3
From (etyl) ("end").Noun
(en noun)Usage notes
This word is virtually never used in speech and therefore essentially confined to musical notation.Derived terms
* da capo al fine=Etymology 4
(etyl) finer, (etyl) finir. See (finish) (transitive verb).Verb
(fin)Noun
(en noun)- to see their fatal fine
- Is this the fine of his fines?
- (Spelman)
Statistics
*Anagrams
* * * English heteronyms English terms with multiple etymologies 1000 English basic words ----sharp
English
Adjective
(er)citation
Catherine Clabby
Focus on Everything, passage=Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.
Synonyms
* (able to cut easily) keen, razor, razor-sharp * (intelligent) brainy, bright, intelligent, keen, smart, witty * (able to pierce easily) pointed * (having an intense and acrid flavour) acrid, pungent * (sudden and intense) abrupt, acute, stabbing * dishonest, dodgy, illegal, illicit, underhand * (accurate) accurate, exact, keen, precise * (critical) acrimonious, bitter, cutting, harsh, hostile, nasty * chic, elegant, smart, stylish * (observant) acute, alert, keen, observant, sharp-eyedAntonyms
* (able to cut easily) blunt, dull * (intelligent) dim, dim-witted, slow, slow-witted, thick * (able to pierce easily) blunt * (higher than usual by one semitone) flat * flat * (having an intense and acrid flavour) bland, insipid, tasteless * (sudden and intense) dull * above-board, honest, legit, legitimate, reputable * (accurate) inaccurate, imprecise * (critical) complimentary, flattering, friendly, kind, nice * inelegant, scruffy, shabby * (observant) unobservantDerived terms
* not the sharpest knife in the drawer * sharpish * sharply * sharp-wittedAdverb
(er)- You bite so sharp at reasons.
- I'll see you at twelve o'clock sharp .
- I didn't enjoy the concert much because the tenor kept going sharp on the high notes.
Synonyms
* (exactly) exactly, on the dot (of time), preciselyNoun
(en noun)- The pitch pipe sounded out a perfect F? (F sharp).
- ''Transposition frequently is harder to read because of all the sharps and flats on the staff.
- The piece was difficult to read after it had been transposed, since in the new key many notes were sharps .
- Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" is written in C? minor (C sharp minor.)
- Place sharps in the specially marked red container for safe disposal.
- If butchers had but the manners to go to sharps , gentlemen would be contented with a rubber at cuffs.
- The casino kept in the break room a set of pictures of known sharps for the bouncers to see.
- (Charles Kingsley)
- The Circle was one of the few dances the older sharps frequented; mostly they were to be found in pubs, pool-halls or at the track.
Derived terms
* card sharp * double sharpSee also
* (music) accidental, flat, natural *Verb
(en verb)- That new musician must be tone deaf: he sharped half the notes of the song!