Several people I've talked to or I've heard use the adverb of degree "quite" to mean "slight." Although it's just a little bit bothering, it's quite wrong. Completely wrong.
Let me demonstrate.
When someone says, "The taste is bitter but I'm just quite used to it." She's mistaken. She wants to say that she is only a bit accustomed to bitter melon but uses the adverb to describe her degree of adaptation to the activity. WRONG.
I remember looking up the meaning of quite as a 13-year-old student of English. Right there, right after the word quite listed in good ol' Webster, it says "completely."
I looked it up again for the sake of supporting this post of mine. From WordWeb dictionary:
Adverb: quite kwItNuff said. #
1. To a degree (not used with a negative)
"quite soon"; "quite ill"; "quite rich"; "quite tasty"
2. To the greatest extent; completely
"you're quite right"; "she was quite alone"; "was quite mistaken"; "quite the opposite"; "not quite finished"; "did not quite make it"
3. Of an unusually noticeable, exceptional or remarkable kind (not used with a negative)
"her victory was quite something"; "she's quite a girl"; "quite a film"; "we've had quite an afternoon";
- quite a, quite an
4. Actually, truly or to an extreme
"was quite a sudden change"; "it's quite the thing to do"; "quite the rage"; "Quite so!"
