Quite vs Private - What's the difference?

quite | private |

As a verb quite

is .

As an adjective private is

belonging to, concerning, or accessible only to an individual person or a specific group.

As a noun private is

the lowest rank of the army.

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 ----

private

English

Adjective

(en adjective)

Belonging to, concerning, or accessible only to an individual person or a specific group.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-14, author=(Jonathan Freedland)

, volume=189, issue=1, page=18, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Obama's once hip brand is now tainted , passage=Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.}}

Not in governmental office or employment.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Peter Wilby)

, volume=189, issue=6, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Finland spreads word on schools , passage=Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16.

Not publicly known; not open; secret.

* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)

, chapter=20 citation , passage=The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen.

Protected from view or disturbance by others; secluded.

Intended only for the use of an individual, group, or organization.

Not accessible by the public.

Not traded by the public.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=70, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= Engineers of a different kind , passage=Private -equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.}}

Secretive; reserved.

(US, of a room in a medical facility) Not shared with another patient.

Synonyms

* (done in the view of others ): secluded * (intended only for one's own use ): personal * (not accessible by the public ):

Antonyms

* public

Noun

(en noun)

The lowest rank of the army.

A soldier of the rank of private.

(in plural privates) A euphemistic term for the genitals.

(obsolete) A secret message; a personal unofficial communication.

(Shakespeare)

(obsolete) Personal interest; particular business.

* Ben Jonson

Nor must I be unmindful of my private .

(obsolete) Privacy; retirement.

* Shakespeare

Go off; I discard you; let me enjoy my private .

(obsolete) One not invested with a public office.

* Shakespeare

What have kings, that privates have not too?

A private lesson.

If you want to learn ballet, consider taking privates .

Synonyms

* (genitals) bits, private parts

Derived terms

* in private * privacy * private language * private parts * private property * private stock * public-private partnership

Statistics

* 1000 English basic words ----