ALL meanings of cut to the quick
cut to the quick
C c - adjective cut to the quick keenly responsive; lively; acute: a quick wit. 1
- adjective cut to the quick acting with swiftness or rapidity: a quick worker. 1
- adjective cut to the quick prompt or swift to do something: quick to respond. 1
- adjective cut to the quick prompt to perceive; sensitive: a quick eye. 1
- adjective cut to the quick prompt to understand, learn, etc.; of ready intelligence: a quick student. 1
- adjective cut to the quick (of a bend or curve) sharp: a quick bend in the road. 1
- adjective cut to the quick consisting of living plants: a quick pot of flowers. 1
- adjective cut to the quick brisk, as fire, flames, heat, etc. 1
- adjective cut to the quick Archaic. endowed with life. having a high degree of vigor, energy, or activity. 1
- noun cut to the quick living persons: the quick and the dead. 1
- noun cut to the quick the tender, sensitive flesh of the living body, especially that under the nails: nails bitten down to the quick. 1
- noun cut to the quick the vital or most important part. 1
- noun cut to the quick Chiefly British. a line of shrubs or plants, especially of hawthorn, forming a hedge. a single shrub or plant in such a hedge. 1
- adverb cut to the quick quickly. 1
- idioms cut to the quick cut to the quick, to injure deeply; hurt the feelings of: Their callous treatment cut her to the quick. 1
- noun cut to the quick The difference between the adverbial forms quick and quickly is frequently stylistic. Quick is more often used in short spoken sentences, especially imperative ones: Come quick! The chimney is on fire. Quickly is the usual form in writing, both in the preverb position (We quickly realized that attempts to negotiate would be futile) and following verbs other than imperatives (She turned quickly and left). See also slow, sure. 1
- adjective cut to the quick done, proceeding, or occurring with promptness or rapidity, as an action, process, etc.; prompt; immediate: a quick response. 1
- adjective cut to the quick that is over or completed within a short interval of time: a quick shower. 1
- adjective cut to the quick moving, or able to move, with speed: a quick fox; a quick train. 1
- adjective cut to the quick swift or rapid, as motion: a quick flick of the wrist. 1
- adjective cut to the quick easily provoked or excited; hasty: a quick temper. 1
- verb cut to the quick Used other than as an idiom: see cut, quick. 0
- verb cut to the quick To hurt a person deeply, especially emotionally. 0
- verb cut to the quick To get to the most essential idea or point. 0