qualify
/ˈkwɑləˌfaɪ/
verb
Familiar
1.v.prove capable or fit; meet requirements
2.v.pronounce fit or able
“She was qualified to run the marathon”
3.v.make more specific
“qualify these remarks”
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qualify and quality differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. qualify means “prove capable or fit; meet requirements”. quality means “an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone”. quality is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈkwɑləˌfaɪ/
1.v.prove capable or fit; meet requirements
2.v.pronounce fit or able
“She was qualified to run the marathon”
3.v.make more specific
“qualify these remarks”
/ˈkwɑləti/
1.n.an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
“the quality of mercy is not strained”
2.n.a degree or grade of excellence or worth
“the quality of students has risen”
3.n.a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something
“each town has a quality all its own”
| qualify | quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈkwɑləˌfaɪ/ | /ˈkwɑləti/ |
| Said | KWAH-luh-fahy | KWAH-luh-tee |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| Letters | 7 | 7 |
| Parts of speech | verb | noun, adjective |
| Senses | 7 | 7 |
| How common | Familiar | Common |
| Synonyms | measure up | none recorded |
Full entry for qualify · Full entry for quality · More comparisons