quality

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. attribute, property; excellence; trait, characteristic; status, brand, grade; nobility, gentility. See attribution, feeling, intrinsic, speciality.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A characteristic]

Syn. attribute, trait, property, characteristic, character, feature, mark, point, endowment; see also characteristic .

2. [Essential character]

Syn. nature, essence, spirit, tone; see character 2 .

3. [Grade]

Syn. class, kind, state, condition, caliber, merit, worth, excellence, stage, step, variety, standing, status, rank, group, place, position, repute; see also degree 2 .

Syn.- quality , the broadest in scope of these terms, refers to a characteristic (physical or nonphysical, individual or typical) that constitutes the basic nature of a thing or is one of its distinguishing features [ the quality of mercy ] ; property applies to a quality that belongs to a thing by reason of the essential nature of the thing [ elasticity is a property of rubber ] ; character , in this connection, is the scientific or formal term for a distinctive or peculiar quality of an individual or of a class, species, etc. [ a hereditary character] ; an attribute is a quality assigned to a thing, esp. one that may reasonably be deduced as appropriate to it [ omnipotence is an attribute of God ] ; trait specif. applies to a distinguishing quality of a person's character [ enthusiasm is one of his outstanding traits]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

1. attribute feature, characteristic, mark, trait, element, nature, property, peculiarity, quirk.

2. excellence value, superiority, distinction, worth, merit, perfection, eminence, caliber, stature, standing, class, virtue.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. A distinctive element: attribute, character, characteristic, feature, mark, peculiarity, property, savor, trait. See BE. 2. A level of superiority that is usually high: caliber, merit, stature, value, virtue, worth. See GOOD, VALUE. 3. High style in quality, manner, or dress: refinement. Informal: class. See STYLE. 4. Degree of excellence: caliber, class, grade. See BE, VALUE. 5. People of the highest social level: aristocracy, blue blood, creme de la creme, elite, flower, gentility, gentry, nobility, patriciate, society, upper class, who's who. Informal: upper crust. See OVER. II adjective Exceptionally good of its kind: ace, banner, blue-ribbon, brag, capital, champion, excellent, fine1, first-class, first-rate, prime, splendid, superb, superior, terrific, tiptop, top. Informal: A-one, bully, dandy, great, swell, topflight, topnotch. Slang: boss. Chiefly British: tophole. See GOOD.