Quite the opposite

Definition

Completely contrary to what was just mentioned or suggested, emphasizing a stark contrast.

Etymology

This phrase developed in the 18th century as a more emphatic alternative to simply saying 'the opposite.' The word 'quite' intensifies the contrast, originally meaning 'completely' rather than the modern 'somewhat.' It reflects English speakers' love of understatement that actually emphasizes through apparent restraint.

Kelly Says

The phrase creates drama through contradiction—it's like a verbal plot twist that completely reverses expectations. The word 'quite' adds a touch of British restraint to what is actually a fairly dramatic statement, showing how English can be simultaneously forceful and polite.

Translations

AMአማርኛ
በተቃራኒ
be te-qa-ra-ni
ARالعربية
تمامًا عكس ذلك
tamaan 'aks tha-thika
BNবাংলা
সম্পূর্ণ বিপরীত
sam-poor-na bi-por-eet
CACatalà
el contrari absolut
el kon-tra-ri a-b-so-lut
CSČeština
zcela opak
ze-cla opa-k
DADansk
helt det modsatte
hult det mod-sat-te
DEDeutsch
ganz das Gegenteil
ganz das ig-ge-ge-n-twi-l
ELΕλληνικά
ακριβώς το αντίθετο
akrivo-s to an-ti-the-to
ESEspañol
todo lo contrario
to-do lo kon-tra-rio
FAفارسی
کاملاً برعکس
kamlan bar-a-kas
FISuomi
täysin vastakka
täysin vast-akka
FRFrançais
tout le contraire
too le kon-trai-r
GUGU
પૂરતી વિપરીત
poor-ti vi-pa-rit
HAHA
kamarin
ka-ma-rin
HEעברית
דווקא ההיפך
do-u-ka ha-hi-pek
HIहिन्दी
बिलकुल विपरीत
bilkul vi-pa-rit
HUMagyar
pontosan az ellenkezője
pon-tosan az el-len-ki-vo-je
IDBahasa Indonesia
sangat berlawanan
san-gat ber-la-wan-an
IGIG
egbuke
eg-bu-ke
ITItaliano
il completo contrario
il kom-ple-to kon-tra-rio
JA日本語
まさに逆
masashi gi-ko
KKKK
қайтарылмаған
ka-y-ta-ry-l-ma-gan
KMKM
ប្រឆាំង
bra-cha-ang
KO한국어
정반대
jeong-ban-dae
MRMR
एकदम विपरीत
ek-dam vi-pa-rit
MSBahasa Melayu
sama sekali bertentangan
sa-ma se-ki bertan-ta-ngan
MYမြန်မာ
ပြောင်းလဲလိုက်
pyawng-la-e la-ike
NLNederlands
het exact tegenovergestelde
het eks-akt te-gen-o-ver-ges-tel-de
NONorsk
helt motsatt
hult mots-att
PAPA
ਪੂਰੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਉਲਟ
poor-ee tar-han ul-t
PLPolski
zupełnie przeciwnie
zupelnie pre-ci-wnie
PTPortuguês
o oposto completo
o o-pos-to kom-ple-to
RORomână
exact opusul
eks-akt o-pu-sul
RUРусский
полное обращение
polnoe obrashchenie
SVSvenska
helt tvärtom
hult tvär-tom
SWKiswahili
kinyume kabisa
ki-nyu-me ka-bi-sa
TAதமிழ்
hoàn toàn 반대
hoan-toan ban-dae
TEతెలుగు
నిర్వివాదంగా వ్యతిరేకం
nir-vi-va-da-nga vy-ti-ra-kam
THไทย
ตรงกันข้าม
dtrong gan kha-am
TLTL
ganap na kabaliktaran
ga-nap na ka-ba-li-k-ta-ran
TRTürkçe
tam tersine
tam ters-i-ne
UKУкраїнська
повністю протилежне
pov-nol-no pro-ti-le-zhne
URاردو
بالکل برعکس
ba-l-kul bar-a-kas
VITiếng Việt
đúng ngược lại
dung nguc lai
YOYO
ni gbogbo
ni g-bo-g-bo
ZH中文
完全相反
wan-quan xiang-fan
ZUZU
ngokuthula
ngok-u-thu-la

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.