fine
Senses referring to subjective quality.
Adjective
- Senses referring to subjective quality.
- The tree frog that they encountered was truly a fine specimen.
- Only a really fine wine could fully complement Lucía's hand-made pasta.
- "That's a fine young fellow," said the historiographer of earwigs, to an American who stood next him in the crowd. - 1856, L. S. Lavenu, chapter XVII, in Erlesmere; or, Contrasts of Character, volume 1, London: Smith,...
-
Of superior quality.
-
(ironic) Impressively bad, inappropriate, or unsatisfactory.
- You're a fine one to talk about laziness.
- Here's another fine mess you've gotten us into.
- A fine romance, with no kisses, A fine romance, my friend, this is; We should be like a couple of hot tomatoes, But you're as cold as yesterday's mashed potatoes. - 1936, “A Fine Romance”, in Dorothy Fields (lyrics),...
Synonyms: hell of a
-
(informal) Being acceptable, adequate, passable, or satisfactory; having one's well-being be no cause for concern.
- How are you today? – Fine.
- Will this one do? It's got a dent in it. – Yeah, it'll be fine, I guess.
- It's fine with me if you stay out late, so long as you're back by three.
-
(informal) Good-looking, attractive.
- That man is so fine that I'd jump into his pants without a moment's hesitation.
- It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and...
- He's so fine (doo-lang-doo-lang-doo-lang) / Wish he were mine (doo-lang-doo-lang-doo-lang) / That handsome boy over there (doo-lang-doo-lang-doo-lang) / The one with the wavy hair (doo-lang-doo-lang-doo-lang) - 1963,...
-
Subtle, delicately balanced or discriminated.
- In any case, Feinsilver’s nomenclatural suggestions and fine distinctions did not enjoy widespread adoption. - 2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, in English World-Wide, page 7:
-
(obsolete) Showy; overdecorated.
- 1853, Matthew Arnold, Preface to The Poems of Matthew Arnold They will permit the poet to select any action he pleases, and to suffer that action to go as it will, provided he gratifies them with occasional bursts of...
-
Delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; dexterous.
- Thou haſt ſpoken all alreadie, vnleſſe thou canſt ſay they are married, but thou art too fine in thy euidence, therefore ſtand aſide. - c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in...
- The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine! - 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC:
- The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery. - c. 1692, John Dryden, Discourse on Satire:
-
An answer often used to cover an unnecessary explanation, rather to avoid conflict or an argument. Saying "I'm fine" can be used to avoid inquiry when the speaker is not really okay.
- Do you want to talk about what happened? – [sharply, with annoyance or discomfort] I'm fine!
- Senses referring to objective quality.
- The small scratch meant that his copy of “X-Men #2” was merely fine when it otherwise would have been “near mint”.
-
Of a particular grade of quality, usually between very good and very fine, and below mint.
-
(of weather) Sunny and not raining.
- If the afternoon was fine they strolled together in the park, very slowly, and with pauses to draw breath wherever the ground sloped upward. The slightest effort made the patient cough. - 1918, W[illiam] B[abington]...
-
Consisting of especially minute particulates; made up of particularly small pieces.
- Grind it into a fine powder.
- When she touched the artifact, it collapsed into a heap of fine dust.
- And if thy oblation be a meate offering baken in the frying pan,it ſhalbe made of fine flowꝛe with oyle. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Leviticus 2:7:
Synonyms: fine-grained powdered powdery pulverised pulverized small-grained
Antonyms: coarse
-
Particularly slender; especially thin, narrow, or of small girth.
- The threads were so fine that you had to look through a magnifying glass to see them.
- But as our urban lives have grown more pressed for time, we have diced our opportunity costs finer and finer; from budgeting days or slabs of hours, we have come to rationing minutes. - 2019 November 21, Samanth...
-
Made of slender or thin filaments.
- They protected themselves from the small parasites with a fine wire mesh.
Synonyms: fine-threaded
Antonyms: coarse
-
Having a (specified) proportion of pure metal in its composition.
- Coins nine tenths fine.
- Behind the batsman and at a small angle to the line between the wickets.
- […]to nudge it through the covers (or tickle it down to fine leg) for a four[…]
- Subtle; thin; tenuous.
- The eye standeth in the finer medium and the object in the grosser. - 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten...
Origin
From Middle English fin, fyn, from Old French fin (“fine, minute, exact”), of obscure origin, but probably derived from Latin fīnīre (“to finish”) or fīnis (“boundary, limit, end”), with an abstract sense of fine or thin also arising in many Romance languages (compare Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish fino). Doublet of fino.
Forms
Adverb
- Well, nicely, in a positive, agreeable way.
- Everything worked out fine.
- Finely; elegantly; delicately.
- In a manner so that the driven ball strikes the object ball so far to one side as to be barely deflected, the object ball being driven to one side.
Forms
Interjection
- Expression of (typically) reluctant or agreement.
- Expression of (typically) reluctant acceptance, without further argument or discussion, of another person's viewpoint.
Noun Entry 4
- A fee levied as punishment for breaking the law.
- The fine for jay-walking has gone from two dollars to thirty in the last fifteen years.
- The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and...
- Money paid by a tenant on the commencement of a tenancy so that their rent may be small or nominal.
- A drink that must be taken during a meal or as part of a drinking game, following an announcement that anyone who has done some (usually outrageous) deed is to be fined; similar to I have never; commonly associated with swaps; very similar to a sconce at Oxford University, though a fine is the penalty itself rather than the act of issuing it.
- Fine if you've…
Origin
From Middle English fyn, fyne, from Old French fin, from Medieval Latin fīnis (“a payment in settlement or tax”). Doublet of fin and finis.
Forms
Synonyms
Derived
Noun obsolete
- End; conclusion; termination; extinction.
- And secret feare, to see their fatall fine - 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 37:
- Is this the fine of his fines? - c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:...
- A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal.
- To cause them to pay more rent or a gretter fyne than they haue ben acustomed to do in tyme past. - 1523, Anthony Fitzherbert, The Boke of Surveying and Improvements:
- A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease.
Origin
From Middle English finen, fynen, from Old French finer, finir. See finish (transitive verb).
Forms
Noun Entry 6
- Fine champagne; French brandy.
- We had dined at l'Avenue's, and afterward went to the Café de Versailles for coffee. We had several fines after the coffee, and I said I must be going. - 1926, Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, Scribner, published...
- ‘Darling,’ Lois told her, ‘don't get depressed. Have another fine.’ - 1928, Jean Rhys, Quartet, Penguin, published 2000, page 34:
- He refilled his glass. ‘The fine is very good,’ he said. - 1936, Djuna Barnes, Nightwood, Faber & Faber, published 2007, page 18:
- Something that is fine; fine particles.
- They filtered silt and fines out of the soil.
Forms
Related
Noun entertainment, lifestyle
- The end of a musical composition.
- The location in a musical score that indicates the end of the piece, particularly when the piece ends somewhere in the middle of the score due to a section of the music being repeated.
Origin
From Italian fine (“end”). French fin. Doublet of fin and finis.
Forms
Derived
Verb Entry 8
- To make finer, purer, or cleaner; to purify or clarify.
- to fine gold
- 1666 (written), 1681 (published), Thomas Hobbes, A Dialogue between a Philosopher and a Student of the Common Laws of England It hath been fined and refined by […] learned men.
- To become finer, purer, or cleaner.
- To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.
- The tools to be used for this surface tillage are those that comminute or fine the soil most completely without compacting it or leaving it in ridges or in furrows - 1913, Liberty Hyde Bailey, The Practical Garden Book:
- To change by fine gradations.
- to fine down a ship's lines, i.e. to diminish her lines gradually
- I often sate at home On evenings, watching how they fined themselves With gradual conscience to a perfect night. - 1856, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “(please specify either |book=1 to 9 or the page)”, in Aurora Leigh,...
- To clarify (wine and beer) by filtration.
- To become gradually fine; to diminish; to dwindle (with away, down, or off).
- I watched her [the ship] […] gradually fining down in the westward until I lost sight of her hull. - 1882, William Clark Russell, My Watch Below:
Forms
Synonyms
Related
Derived
age like a fine wine age like fine wine as fine as Dick's hatband chance'd be a fine thing chance would be a fine thing cut it fine day fine day-fine down to a fine art draw it fine every good boy does fine extrafine fine adjustment tool fine and dandy fine and dandy like sour candy fine art fine artist fine arts fine as frog hair fine as frog's hair fine bean fine casual fine chemical fine count
Verb Entry 9
- To issue a fine as punishment to (someone).
- She was fined a thousand dollars for littering, but she appealed.
- To pay a fine.
- Men fined for the king's good will; or that he would remit his anger; women fined for leave to marry. - 1818, Henry Hallam, View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages:
Forms
Synonyms
Related
Derived
Verb intransitive, obsolete
- To finish; to cease.
- To cause to cease; to stop.