— qualityless , adj.
/kwol"i tee/ , n. , pl. qualities , adj.
n.
1. an essential or distinctive characteristic, property, or attribute: the chemical qualities of alcohol.
2. character or nature, as belonging to or distinguishing a thing: the quality of a sound.
3. character with respect to fineness, or grade of excellence: food of poor quality; silks of fine quality.
4. high grade; superiority; excellence: wood grain of quality.
5. a personality or character trait: kindness is one of her many good qualities.
6. native excellence or superiority.
7. an accomplishment or attainment.
8. good or high social position: a man of quality.
9. the superiority or distinction associated with high social position.
10. Acoustics. the texture of a tone, dependent on its overtone content, that distinguishes it from others of the same pitch and loudness.
11. Phonet. the tonal color, or timbre, that characterizes a particular vowel sound.
12. Logic. the character of a proposition as affirmative or negative.
13. Thermodynam. the proportion or percentage of vapor in a mixture of liquid and vapor, as wet steam.
14. social status or position.
15. a person of high social position: He's quality, that one is.
adj.
16. of or having superior quality: quality paper.
17. producing or providing products or services of high quality or merit: a quality publisher.
18. of or occupying high social status: a quality family.
19. marked by a concentrated expenditure of involvement, concern, or commitment: Counselors are urging that working parents try to spend more quality time with their children.
[ 1250-1300; ME qualite qualitas, equiv. to qual ( is ) of what sort + -itas -ITY ]
Syn. 1. trait, character, feature. QUALITY, ATTRIBUTE, PROPERTY agree in meaning a particular characteristic (of a person or thing). A QUALITY is a characteristic, innate or acquired, that, in some particular, determines the nature and behavior of a person or thing: naturalness as a quality; the quality of meat. An ATTRIBUTE was originally a quality attributed, usually to a person or something personified; more recently it has meant a fundamental or innate characteristic: an attribute of God; attributes of a logical mind.
PROPERTY applies only to things; it means a characteristic belonging specifically in the constitution of, or found (invariably) in, the behavior of a thing: physical properties of uranium or of limestone. 3. nature, kind, grade, sort, condition.