Quite vs Much - What's the difference?

quite | much |

As adverbs the difference between quite and much

is that quite is To the greatest extent or degree; completely, entirely.much is to a great extent.

As an interjection quite

is indicates agreement; "exactly so".

As a noun quite

is a series of passes made with the cape to distract the bull.

As a determiner much is

large, great.

As a pronoun much is

a large amount or great extent.

quite

English

Alternative forms

* quight (obsolete)

Etymology 1

A development of (quit), influence by (etyl) quite.

Adverb

(-)

(lb) To the greatest extent or degree; completely, entirely.

#With verbs, especially past participles.

#*, Book I:

#*:Thus when they had the witch disrobed quight , / And all her filthy feature open showne, / They let her goe at will, and wander wayes vnknowne.

#*2005 , Adrian Searle, The Guardian , 4 October:

#*:Nobuyoshi Araki has been called a monster, a pornographer and a genius - and the photographer quite agrees.

#With prepositional phrases and spatial adverbs.

#*1891 , (Thomas Nelson Page), On Newfound River :

#*:Margaret passed quite through the pines, and reached the opening beyond which was what was once the yard, but was now, except for a strip of flower-border and turf which showed care, simply a tangle of bushes and briars.

#*2010 , Joanna Briscoe, The Guardian , 30 October:

#*:Religion and parochial etiquette are probed to reveal unhealthy, and sometimes shockingly violent, internal desires quite at odds with the surface life of a town in which tolerance is preached.

#With predicative adjectives.

#*1914 , (Edgar Rice Burroughs), (The Son of Tarzan) :

#*:El Adrea was quite dead. No more will he slink silently upon his unsuspecting prey.

#*:

#*:In Lejeuneaceae vegetative branches normally originate from the basiscopic basal portion of a lateral segment half, as in the Radulaceae, and the associated leaves, therefore, are quite unmodified.

#With attributive adjectives, following an (especially indefinite) article; chiefly as expressing contrast, difference etc.

#*2003 , (Richard Dawkins), A Devil's Chaplain :

#*:When I warned him that his words might be offensive to identical twins, he said that identical twins were a quite different case.

#*2011 , Peter Preston, The Observer , 18 September:

#*:Create a new, quite separate, private company – say Murdoch Newspaper Holdings – and give it all, or most of, the papers that News Corp owns.

#Preceding nouns introduced by the indefinite article. Chiefly in negative constructions.

#*1791 , (James Boswell), (Life of Samuel Johnson) :

#*:I ventured to hint that he was not quite a fair judge, as Churchill had attacked him violently.

#*1920 , (John Galsworthy), (In Chancery) :

#*:And with a prolonged sound, not quite' a sniff and not ' quite a snort, he trod on Euphemia's toe, and went out, leaving a sensation and a faint scent of barley?sugar behind him.

#With adverbs of manner.

#*2009 , John F. Schmutz, The Battle of the Crater: A complete history :

#*:However, the proceedings were quite carefully orchestrated to produce what seemed to be a predetermined outcome.

#*2011 , Bob Burgess, The Guardian , 18 October:

#*:Higher education institutions in the UK are, quite rightly, largely autonomous.

(lb) In a fully justified sense; truly, perfectly, actually.

#Coming before the indefinite article and an attributive adjective. (Now largely merged with moderative senses, below.)

#*1898 , (Charles Gavrice), Nell of Shorne Mills :

#*:"My little plot has been rather successful, after all, hasn't it?" "Quite a perfect success," said Drake.

#*2001 , Paul Brown, The Guardian , 7 February:

#*:While the government claims to lead the world with its plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the figures tell quite a different story.

#With plain adjectives, past participles, and adverbs.

#*:“My Continental prominence is improving,” I commented dryly. ¶ Von Lindowe cut at a furze bush with his silver-mounted rattan. ¶ “Quite so,” he said as dryly, his hand at his mustache. “I may say if your intentions were known your life would not be worth a curse.”

#*2010 , Dave Hill, The Guardian , 5 November:

#*:London Underground is quite unique in how many front line staff it has, as anyone who has travelled on the Paris Metro or New York Subway will testify.

#Coming before the definite article and an attributive superlative.

#*1910 , ‘(Saki)’, "The Soul of Laploshka", Reginald in Russia :

#*:Laploshka was one of the meanest men I have ever met, and quite one of the most entertaining.

#*1923 , "The New Pictures", Time , 8 October:

#*:Scaramouche has already been greeted as the finest French Revolution yet brought to the screen-and even if you are a little weary of seeing a strongly American band of sans-culottes demolish a pasteboard Paris, you should not miss Scaramouche, for it is quite the best thing Rex Ingram has done since The Four Horsemen.

#Before a noun preceded by an indefinite article; now often with ironic implications that the noun in question is particularly noteworthy or remarkable.

#*1830 , Senate debate, 15 April:

#*:To debauch the Indians with rum and cheat them of their land was quite a Government affair, and not at all criminal; but to use rum to cheat them of their peltry, was an abomination in the sight of the law.

#*2011 , Gilbert Morris, The Crossing :

#*:“Looks like you and Clay had quite a party,” she said with a glimmer in her dark blue eyes.

#Before a noun preceded by the definite article.

#*1871 , (Anthony Trollope), (The Eustace Diamonds) :

#*:It is quite the proper thing for a lady to be on intimate, and even on affectionate, terms with her favourite clergyman, and Lizzie certainly had intercourse with no clergyman who was a greater favourite with her than Mr. Emilius.

#*2006 , Sherman Alexie, "When the story stolen is your own", Time , 6 February:

#*:His memoir features a child named Tommy Nothing Fancy who suffers from and dies of a seizure disorder. Quite the coincidence, don't you think?

To a moderate extent or degree; somewhat, rather.

Usage notes

* This is a non-descriptive qualifier'', similar to fairly and rather and somewhat. Used where a plain adjective needs to be modified, but cannot be qualified. When spoken, the meaning can vary with the tone of voice and stress. ''He was quite big can mean anything from "not exactly small" to "almost huge".

Synonyms

* absolutely, fully, thoroughly, totally, utterly

Antonyms

* (to a great extent) slightly

Derived terms

* quite a few

Interjection

(en interjection)

Indicates agreement; "exactly so".

Etymology 2

From (etyl) quite.

Noun

(en noun)

(bullfighting) A series of passes made with the cape to distract the bull.

Statistics

Anagrams

* quiet English degree adverbs English heteronyms English manner adverbs 1000 English basic words ----

much

English

(wikipedia much)

Determiner

(label) Large, great.

*:Thenne launcelot vnbarred the dore / and with his lyfte hand he held it open a lytel / so that but one man myghte come in attones / and soo there came strydyng a good knyghte a moche man and large / and his name was Colgreuaunce / of Gore / and he with a swerd strake at syr launcelot my?tely and he put asyde the stroke

A large amount of.

*1816 , (Jane Austen), :

*:As it was, he did nothing with much zeal, but sport; and his time was otherwise trifled away, without benefit from books or anything else.

*2011 , "Wisconsin and wider", The Economist , 24 February:

*:Unless matters take a nastier turn, neither side has much incentive to compromise.

*:ye shall not nede to seke hym soo ferre sayd the Kynge / for as I here saye sir Launcelot will abyde me and yow in the Ioyous gard / and moche peple draweth vnto hym as I here saye

*1526 , Bible , tr. (William Tyndale), Matthew VI:

*:When Jesus was come downe from the mountayne, moch people folowed him.

*1897 , (Bram Stoker), (Dracula) :

*:There wasn't much people about that day.

*1977 , (Bob Marley), So Much Things to Say :

*:They got so much' things to say right now, they got so ' much things to say.

Usage notes

* is now generally used with uncountable nouns. The equivalent used with countable nouns is many. In positive contexts, much'' is widely avoided: ''I have a lot of''' money'' instead of ''I have '''much''' money''. There are some exceptions to this, however: ''I have '''much hope for the future. * Unlike many determiners, .)

Synonyms

* (informal) a great deal of, (informal) a lot of

Antonyms

* little

Derived terms

* how much * overmuch

Adverb

To a great extent.

They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups.

* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 20, author=Michael da Silva, work=BBC Sport

, title= Stoke 3-0 Macc Tel-Aviv , passage=Tangling with Ziv, Cameron caught him with a flailing elbow, causing the Israeli defender to go down a little easily. However, the referee was in no doubt, much to the displeasure of the home fans.}}

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=52, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= The new masters and commanders , passage=From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much . Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.}}

Often; frequently.

Usage notes

* As a verb modifier in positive contexts, must be modified by another adverb: I like fish very much''''', ''I like fish '''so much''''', etc. but not *''I like fish '''much . * As a comparative intensifier, many'' can be used instead of ''much'' if it modifies the comparative form of ''many'', i.e. ''more'' with a countable noun: ''many''' more people'' but '''''much more snow .

Synonyms

* (to a great extent) (informal) a great deal, (informal) a lot, greatly, highly, (informal) loads, plenty , very much

Antonyms

* (to a great extent) less, little, few

Pronoun

(English Pronouns)

A large amount or great extent.

From those to whom much''' has been given '''much is expected.

Statistics

Anagrams

* 200 English basic words English degree adverbs English locatives 1000 English basic words ----