What is the difference between quite and pretty in the following context:
The differences between these concepts are quite complicated.
and
The differences between these concepts are pretty complicated.
Answer
Pretty complicated is approximately the same as fairly complicated: there is a significant degree of complication. It is complicated enough that it will require much effort for an ordinary person to understand it.
- Pretty, in this sense, is used mostly in conversation, very little in formal discourse.
Quite complicated is more complicated than that: very complicated. It is so complicated that an ordinary person may not be able to understand it entirely.
- Quite is used mostly in formal discourse, much less in ordinary conversation.
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