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  • She is very lovely.
  • She is quite a lovely girl.


  • He is very handsome.
  • He is quite a handsome man.

Do they mean exactly the same? What i know and found on the internet is that "the effect of very is stronger than the effect of quite"

ColleenV
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3 Answers3

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Very is an adverb used to intensify. Quite is an adverb used to dampen a little. If you say “she is very lovely,” you are signaling to your audience to envision a lovely girl, then dial it up a bit. If you say “she is quite lovely,” you are signaling to your audience to picture a lovely girl, but dial back your expectations just a bit. The one caveat is that quite is often used not because the girl isn’t just plain lovely or even very lovely, but as deliberate understatement.

Sean Wright
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  • I'm assuming the understated usage of quite is the BrE usage and the synonym for very is the AmE usage? – EllieK Mar 09 '23 at 17:02
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As StephenS wrote, the meaning and use of "quite" are different in the US and in the UK. In the US, quite is an intensifier, so that "quite pretty" is much stronger than "pretty." For me, it is a synonym for "very." When used directly before an adjective, it is more often used by women than by men (in the US).

(I don't have a reference for my views; they are based on my experience as a native speaker of American English and over two decades as an EFL teacher. The Britannica discussion reflects British English.)

Kim Dammers
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The word very shows more intensity than the word quite. You can find the complete explanation and reasoning here.

Also, quite can both mean very as well as, in some cases, slightly. (Source)

Bella Swan
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