Adverbs of Degree: Quite, Rather, Fairly, Pretty

Adverbs of degree weaken or strengthen an adjective. They differ in register and shade.

• quite — fairly / completely (in BrE it can be stronger than “a bit”): It's quite cold. · She's quite right. (completely)
• rather — fairly, often with surprise or a minus: It's rather expensive.
• fairly — moderately, not a superlative: He's fairly tall.
• pretty — fairly, informal: It's pretty good.

With stative verbs: I quite like it is natural; I fairly like it is not.

Article order: quite a good idea, rather a long way (also a rather long way).