quite pretty, rather pretty, very pretty in British English and American English


I have a feeling that "quite pretty" doesn't have exactly the same meaning in British English and American English. For instance, in American English, "She's quite pretty" is considered as a compliment, and is close in meaning with "She's very pretty", whereas in British English, "She's quite pretty" has more or less the meaning of "She's rather pretty", "She's okay", but not "very pretty", which means that "quite pretty" is not "quite a compliment" in British English. What do British and American native speakers think? What would an Austalian or a Canadian think?




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