What's the difference between quite and rather?

Quite


Definition:

  • (v. t. & i.) See Quit.
  • (a.) Completely; wholly; entirely; totally; perfectly; as, the work is not quite done; the object is quite accomplished; to be quite mistaken.
  • (a.) To a great extent or degree; very; very much; considerably.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) It is quite interesting to analyse which gene of the virus determines the characteristics of the virus.
  • (2) The most successful dyes were phenocyanin TC, gallein, fluorone black, alizarin cyanin BB and alizarin blue S. Celestin blue B with an iron mordant is quite successful if properly handled to prevent gelling of solutions.
  • (3) Mike Ashley told Lee Charnley that maybe he could talk with me last week but I said: ‘Listen, we cannot say too much so I think it’s better if we wait.’ The message Mike Ashley is sending is quite positive, but it was better to talk after we play Tottenham.” Benítez will ask Ashley for written assurances over his transfer budget, control of transfers and other spheres of club autonomy, but can also reassure the owner that the prospect of managing in the second tier holds few fears for him.
  • (4) Certainly, Saunders did not land a single blow that threatened to stop his opponent, although he took quite a few himself that threatened his titles in the final few rounds.
  • (5) Yesterday's flight may not quite have been one small step for man, but the hyperbole and the sense of history weighed heavily on those involved.
  • (6) In the dark the 6-azidoflavoproteins are quite stable, except for L-lactate oxidase, where spontaneous conversion to the 6-amino-FMN enzyme occurs slowly at pH 7.
  • (7) I did not - do not - quite understand how some are able to contemplate his anti-semitism with indifference.
  • (8) In spite of the presence of scar tissue following rhytidectomy, this procedure has been quite successful because of the rich blood supply in that area.
  • (9) Dialyzed crude enzyme extracts from yeast cells were found to destroy diacetyl in a manner quite similar to that of diacetyl reductase from Aerobacter aerogenes, and both the bacterial and the yeast extracts were stimulated significantly by the addition of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH).
  • (10) The authors present a quite unused technique that helps to simplify the cavity preparation in Operative Dentistry.
  • (11) Interexaminer reliability studies indicate that a standard method of motion palpation is quite feasible and accurate.
  • (12) Our findings: (1) both forms, LC1 and LC3, migrate in the two species with rather similar electrophoretic constants (both in terms of pI and Mr); (2) the LC2 forms of rabbit and humans exhibit the same Mr but quite different pI values, the rabbit forms being more acidic; (3) the chain LC2Sb is resolved into two spots in both rabbit and humans.
  • (13) The tunes weren't quite as easy and lush as they had been, and hints of dissonance crept in.
  • (14) The decision of the editors to solicit a review for the Medical Progress series of this journal devoted to current concepts of the renal handling of salt and water is sound in that this important topic in kidney physiology has recently been the object of a number of new, exciting and, in some instances, quite unexpected insights into the mechanisms governing sodium excretion.
  • (15) In a clear water reservoir built in ready construction after a working-period of five months quite a lot of slime could be found on the expansion joint filled with tightening compound on the base of Thiokol.
  • (16) Four patients developed an hypertensive crisis with quite elevated levels of aldosterone, cortisol and plasma renin activity.
  • (17) Stage REM frequently appeared within 10 min of stage 1 onset and the normal sequence of stages REM and 4 were altered, demonstrating that the organization of sleep within a nap is quite different from that in monophasic nocturnal sleep.
  • (18) I think we are still trying to understand all that and I think that fits under the broader topic of social licence and what bringing in automation to an area does to that region as a whole, which we don’t quite know yet.” Could carbon farming be the answer for a 'clapped-out' Australia?
  • (19) Asked whether the 2022 bid should be reopened in the wake of the allegations in the Sunday Times, Cameron said: "There is an inquiry under way, quite rightly, into what happened in terms of the World Cup bid for 2022.
  • (20) We believe that this unit is quite safe for clinical use and that it will become a new strong support for non-blood open heart surgery.

Rather


Definition:

  • (a.) Prior; earlier; former.
  • (a.) Earlier; sooner; before.
  • (a.) More readily or willingly; preferably.
  • (a.) On the other hand; to the contrary of what was said or suggested; instead.
  • (a.) Of two alternatives conceived of, this by preference to, or as more likely than, the other; somewhat.
  • (a.) More properly; more correctly speaking.
  • (a.) In some degree; somewhat; as, the day is rather warm; the house is rather damp.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) For some time now, public opinion polls have revealed Americans' strong preference to live in comparatively small cities, towns, and rural areas rather than in large cities.
  • (2) They’re no crack force either; many are rather portly!
  • (3) It has recently been suggested that procaine penicillin existed in solution in vitro and in vivo as a "procaine - penicillin" complex rather than as dissociated ions.
  • (4) Recent data collected by the Games Outcomes Project and shared on the website Gamasutra backs up the view that crunch compounds these problems rather than solving them.
  • (5) The Cole-Moore effect, which was found here only under a specific set of conditions, thus may be a special case rather than the general property of the membrane.
  • (6) The pancreatic changes are unlikely to be an artefact, but rather a direct toxic effect of the alcohol as confirmed by the biochemical changes.
  • (7) Reactive metabolites which suppress splenic humoral immune responses are thought to be generated within the spleen rather than in distant tissues.
  • (8) These results indicate that HBV markers in cord blood are either false-positive or due to contamination by maternal blood rather than an indication of in utero infection.
  • (9) As a group, the three mammalian proteins resemble bovine serum conglutinin and behave as lectins with rather broad sugar specificities directed at certain non-reducing terminal N-acetylglucosamine, mannose, glucose and fucose residues, but with subtle differences in fine specificities.
  • (10) Several interpretations of the results are examined including the possibility that the effects of Valium use were short-lived rather than long-term and that Valium may have been taken in anticipation of anxiety rather than after its occurrence.
  • (11) Women seldom occupy higher positions in a [criminal] organisation, and are rather used for menial, but often dangerous tasks ,” it notes.
  • (12) It is time to start over with an approach to promoting wellbeing in foreign countries that is empirical rather than ideological.
  • (13) In one of the cirrhotic patients, postmortem correlation of sonographic, angiographic, and pathological findings showed that the dilated vessels seen on sonography were cystic veins draining normally into the portal vein rather than portosystemic anastomoses.
  • (14) Communicating sustainability is a subtle attempt at doing good Read more And yet, in environmental terms it is infinitely preferable to prevent waste altogether, rather than recycle it.
  • (15) Current recommendations regarding contraception in patients with diabetes are not appropriate for the adolescent population and therefore tend to support this phenomenon rather than relieve it.
  • (16) Hence the major role of the 14-A arm of carboxybiotin is not to permit a large carboxyl migration but, rather to permit carboxybiotin to traverse the gap which occurs at the interface of three subunits and to insinuate itself between the CoA and keto acid sites.
  • (17) These later results suggest that dopamine agonists increase sensorimotor reactivity measured with acoustic startle by acting on sensory rather than motor parts of the reflex arc.
  • (18) This was due to the fact that stale bread was fed ad lib, rather than concentrates.
  • (19) Rather, academics need to involve themselves in managerial roles.
  • (20) Decreased synthesis rather than increased utilization accounted for the nucleoside effect.