Great vs. Greet — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on March 18, 2024
Great refers to something of large size, importance, or excellence, while greet means to welcome or acknowledge someone's presence or arrival.
Difference Between Great and Greet
Table of Contents
ADVERTISEMENT
Key Differences
Great implies large size, importance, or quality, suggesting that something exceeds the ordinary. For example, a great achievement stands out significantly from common accomplishments. On the other hand, greet is an action of welcoming or acknowledging someone's presence, often used in social interactions to express recognition or salutation, such as saying hello.
Great can also denote excellence or high quality, indicating that something or someone is distinguished by superiority. A great work of art, for instance, is admired for its excellence. Whereas, greet involves the act of communication or gesture intended to show happiness or respect upon someone's arrival or introduction, enhancing social bonds.
In terms of usage, great is an adjective used to modify nouns, amplifying their qualities. It can apply to a wide range of contexts, from physical size to abstract concepts of value. Greet, however, is a verb that involves an action directed towards others, specifically to show recognition or welcome, reflecting its relational and interactive nature.
Great often carries a subjective element; what is considered great by one may not be seen the same way by another, depending on personal standards or cultural values. Greet, in contrast, is a universal social gesture understood across cultures, though the ways of greeting can vary greatly.
While great can evoke a sense of awe or admiration, implying a benchmark of excellence, greet is more about establishing or acknowledging a connection or relationship, often initiating communication or interaction between individuals.
ADVERTISEMENT
Comparison Chart
Definition
Large in size, importance, or excellence.
To welcome or acknowledge someone's presence.
Part of Speech
Adjective
Verb
Context of Use
Can be used to describe objects, achievements, qualities.
Used in social interactions for welcoming.
Subjectivity
May vary based on personal or cultural standards.
Generally understood, but practices vary by culture.
Social Function
Evokes admiration or acknowledgment of superiority.
Establishes or acknowledges a connection or relationship.
Compare with Definitions
Great
Remarkable in degree or intensity.
There was a great commotion.
Greet
To appear or present itself to someone.
A lovely view greeted us in the morning.
Great
Exceeding average size.
He lives in a great house.
Greet
To address someone with specified words or actions upon meeting.
They greeted each other with a handshake.
Great
Of significant importance or value.
She made a great discovery.
Greet
To welcome someone with words or gestures.
She greeted me warmly.
Great
Superior in quality.
That's a great idea!
Greet
To react to something in a specified manner.
They greeted the proposal with enthusiasm.
Great
Widely acclaimed or esteemed.
He's a great artist.
Greet
To acknowledge someone's arrival or presence.
He greeted each guest at the door.
Great
Very large in size, extent, or intensity
A great pile of rubble.
A great storm.
Greet
To salute or welcome in a friendly and respectful way with speech or writing, as upon meeting or in starting a letter.
Great
Of a larger size than other, similar forms
The great anteater.
Greet
To receive with a specified reaction
Greet a joke with laughter.
Great
Large in quantity or number
A great throng awaited us.
Greet
To be perceived by
A din greeted our ears.
Great
Extensive in time or distance
A great delay.
A great way off.
Greet
(transitive) To welcome in a friendly manner, either in person or through another means such as writing.
Great
Remarkable or outstanding in magnitude, degree, or extent
A great crisis.
Great anticipation.
Greet
(transitive) To arrive at or reach, or meet.
Great
Of outstanding significance or importance
A great work of art.
Greet
(transitive) To accost; to address.
Great
Chief or principal
The great house on the estate.
Greet
To meet and give salutations.
Great
Superior in quality or character; noble
A great man who dedicated himself to helping others.
Greet
(transitive) To be perceived by (somebody).
A brilliant dawn greeted her eyes as she looked out of the window.
Great
Powerful; influential
One of the great nations of the West.
Greet
To weep; to cry.
Great
Eminent; distinguished
A great leader.
Greet
Great.
Great
Very good; first-rate
We had a great time at the dance.
Greet
(obsolete) Mourning, weeping, lamentation.
Great
Very skillful
She is great at algebra.
Greet
Great.
Great
Enthusiastic
A great lover of music.
Greet
To weep; to cry; to lament.
Great
Being one generation removed from the relative specified. Often used in combination
A great-granddaughter.
Greet
To address with salutations or expressions of kind wishes; to salute; to hail; to welcome; to accost with friendship; to pay respects or compliments to, either personally or through the intervention of another, or by writing or token.
My lord, the mayor of London comes to greet you.
Great
(Archaic) Pregnant.
Greet
To come upon, or meet, as with something that makes the heart glad.
In vain the spring my senses greets.
Great
Pl. greats or great One that is great
A composer considered among the greats.
Greet
To accost; to address.
Great
A division of most pipe organs, usually containing the most powerful ranks of pipes.
Greet
To meet and give salutations.
There greet in silence, as the dead are wont, And sleep in peace.
Great
A similar division of other organs.
Greet
Mourning.
Great
Very well
Got along great with the teacher.
Greet
Greeting.
Great
Used as an intensive with certain adjectives
A great big kiss.
Greet
Express greetings upon meeting someone
Great
(augmentative) Large, senior high-ranking, intense, extreme, or exceptional
Greet
Send greetings to
Great
Relatively large in scale, size, extent, number (i.e. having many parts or members) or duration (i.e. relatively long); very big.
A great storm is approaching our shores.
A great assembly
A great wait
Greet
React to in a certain way;
The President was greeted with catcalls
Great
Title referring to an important leader.
Alexander the Great
Greet
Be perceived by;
Loud music greeted him when he entered the apartment
Great
Of larger size or more importance than others of its kind.
The great auk
Great
(informal) Very good; excellent; wonderful; fantastic.
Dinner was great.
Great
Intensifying a word or expression, used in mild oaths.
A dirty great smack in the face
Great Scott!
Great
(qualifying nouns of family relationship) Involving more generations than the qualified word implies — as many extra generations as repetitions of the word great (from 1510s). [see Derived terms]
Great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, great-great-great-grandfather
Great
Pregnant; large with young; full of.
Great with child
Great with hope
Great
Intimate; familiar.
Great
Extreme or more than usual.
Great worry
Great
Of significant importance or consequence; important.
A great decision
Great
(applied to actions, thoughts and feelings) Arising from or possessing idealism; admirable; superior; commanding; heroic; illustrious; eminent.
A great deed
A great nature
A great history
Great
Impressive or striking.
A great show of wealth
Great
Much in use; favoured.
Poetry was a great convention of the Romantic era.
Great
(applied to persons) Endowed with extraordinary powers; of exceptional talents or achievements; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; remarkable; strong; powerful; mighty; noble.
A great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, writer etc.
Great
Doing or exemplifying (a characteristic or pursuit) on a large scale; active or enthusiastic.
What a great buffoon!
He's not a great one for reading.
A great walker
Great
(often followed by 'at') Skilful or adroit.
A great carpenter
You are great at singing.
Great
Expression of gladness and content about something.
Great! Thanks for the wonderful work.
Great
Sarcastic inversion thereof.
Oh, great! I just dumped all 500 sheets of the manuscript all over and now I have to put them back in order.
Great
A person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.
Newton and Einstein are two of the greats of the history of science.
Great
(music) The main division in a pipe organ, usually the loudest division.
Great
(in combinations such as "two-greats", "three-greats" etc.) An instance of the word "great" signifying an additional generation in phrases expressing family relationships.
My three-greats grandmother.
Great
(informal) Very well in a very satisfactory manner.
Those mechanical colored pencils work great because they don't have to be sharpened.
Great
Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous; expanded; - opposed to small and little; as, a great house, ship, farm, plain, distance, length.
Great
Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc.
Great
Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval.
Great
Superior; admirable; commanding; - applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings.
Great
Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc.
Great
Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distinguished; foremost; principal; as, great men; the great seal; the great marshal, etc.
He doth object I am too great of birth.
Great
Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle.
Great
Pregnant; big (with young).
The ewes great with young.
Great
More than ordinary in degree; very considerable in degree; as, to use great caution; to be in great pain.
We have allGreat cause to give great thanks.
Great
Older, younger, or more remote, by single generation; - often used before grand to indicate one degree more remote in the direct line of descent; as, great-grandfather (a grandfather's or a grandmother's father), great-grandson, etc.
Great
The whole; the gross; as, a contract to build a ship by the great.
Great
Relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind;
A great juicy steak
A great multitude
The great auk
A great old oak
A great ocean liner
A great delay
Great
More than usual;
Great expectations
Great worry
Great
(used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation;
Our distinguished professor
An eminent scholar
A great statesman
Great
Of major significance or importance;
A great work of art
Einstein was one of the outstanding figures of the 20th century
Great
Remarkable or out of the ordinary in degree or magnitude or effect;
A great crisis
Had a great stake in the outcome
Great
Very good;
He did a bully job
A neat sports car
Had a great time at the party
You look simply smashing
Great
Uppercase;
Capital A
Great A
Many medieval manuscripts are in majuscule script
Great
Marked by active interest and enthusiasm;
An avid sports fan
A great walker
An eager beaver
Great
In an advanced stage of pregnancy;
Was big with child
Was great with child
Common Curiosities
What does it mean to be great?
Being great means to be significantly above the norm in size, quality, or importance.
What is the purpose of greeting someone?
The purpose is to welcome or acknowledge someone's presence or arrival.
How do you use great in a sentence?
"She achieved great success in her career."
Can greet be non-verbal?
Yes, greetings can be non-verbal, such as bowing or smiling.
Can something be both great and greet?
No, as one describes quality or size (great) and the other is an action (greet).
Is greatness measurable?
It can be subjective, depending on the context and criteria used.
Is great always a compliment?
Typically, yes, but context matters; it can be subjective.
How does culture affect greeting?
Cultural norms dictate how people greet each other, varying greatly across different societies.
Why is greeting important in communication?
It initiates interactions and establishes rapport between people.
Can a greeting change the mood of a conversation?
Yes, a warm greeting can positively influence the tone of an interaction.
Can animals greet?
Animals have behaviors that could be considered as forms of greeting, like dogs wagging their tails.
What makes a person great?
Achievements, character, or impact on others can contribute to being considered great.
Can great be used ironically?
Yes, great can be used ironically to imply that something is actually not good.
Do all languages have a word for greet?
Yes, all languages have ways to express greeting, though the methods and words may vary.
Is there a wrong way to greet someone?
Inappropriate greetings can occur if cultural norms or personal boundaries are not respected.
Share Your Discovery
Previous Comparison
Copy vs. Reproduce
Next Comparison
Conceit vs. ConceptAuthor Spotlight
Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
