What does "quality" mean?
Level of excellence.
Quality
/ˈkwɑ.lə.ti/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Level of excellence.
- Grammar: quality is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: caliber, acquired taste, adequate, advantageousness.
- Useful contrasts: low-quality, badness, defect.
- Usage evidence: Blindness is responsible for a staggering toll of poor health, suffering, and loss of dignity and diminution in the quality of lives of people worldwide.
How to use "quality"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "quality" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "quality" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "quality" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "quality" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "quality" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "caliber" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "quality", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Level of excellence. uncountable
"This school is well-known for having teachers of high quality."
- 2 an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone wordnet
- 3 Something that differentiates a thing or person. countable
"One of the qualities of pure iron is that it does not rust easily."
- 4 a degree or grade of excellence or worth wordnet
- 5 Position; status; rank. archaic, countable, uncountable
"The firſt Solemn Embaſſy that the French King ſent to the late King of SIAM, was in the Year 1685, by Monſieur de Chaumont, who went in Quality of Ambaſſador Extraordinary […]"
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound) wordnet
- 7 High social position. (See also the quality.) archaic, countable, uncountable
"A peasant is not allowed to fall in love with a lady of quality."
- 8 a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something wordnet
- 9 The degree to which a man-made object or system is free from faults and flaws, as opposed to scope of functions or quantity of items. uncountable
- 10 high social status wordnet
- 11 In a two-phase liquid–vapor mixture, the ratio of the mass of vapor present to the total mass of the mixture. countable, uncountable
- 12 The third step in OPQRST where the responder investigates what the NOI/MOI feels like. countable
"To identify quality try asking, "what does it feel like?"."
- 13 A newspaper with relatively serious, high-quality content. UK, countable
"It is argued that in the last ten years or so, quality broadsheet newspapers have become more like the tabloids. Anthony Sampson has argued that 'the frontier between the qualities and popular papers has virtually disappeared'."
Adjective
- 1 (attributive) Being of good worth, well made, fit for purpose; of high quality.
"We only sell quality products."
Adjective
- 1 of high social status wordnet
- 2 of superior grade wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Blindness is responsible for a staggering toll of poor health, suffering, and loss of dignity and diminution in the quality of lives of people worldwide."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "quality"?
Common synonyms include: caliber, acquired taste, adequate, advantageousness, affection, affirmation.
How do you use "quality" in a sentence?
Blindness is responsible for a staggering toll of poor health, suffering, and loss of dignity and diminution in the quality of lives of people worldwide.
How do you pronounce "quality"?
Pronounced /ˈkwɑ.lə.ti/.
Etymology
From Middle English qualite, from Old French qualité, from Latin quālitās, quālitātem, from quālis (“of what kind”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷo- (“who, how”). Cicero coined qualitas as a calque to translate the Ancient Greek word ποιότης (poiótēs, “quality”), coined by Plato from ποῖος (poîos, “of what nature, of what kind”).