nice

¹

[ nahys ]

adjective

, nic·er, nic·est.

1. pleasing; agreeable; delightful:

   a nice visit.

   Antonyms: unpleasant

2. amiably pleasant; kind:

   They are always nice to strangers.

   Synonyms: friendly

   Antonyms: unkind

3. characterized by, showing, or requiring great accuracy, precision, skill, tact, care, or delicacy:

   nice workmanship; a nice shot; a nice handling of a crisis.

   Synonyms: particular, discerning, discriminating, scrupulous, critical, exacting, exact, delicate

   Antonyms: careless

4. showing or indicating very small differences; minutely accurate, as instruments:

   a job that requires nice measurements.

5. minute, fine, or subtle:

   a nice distinction.

6. having or showing delicate, accurate perception:

   a nice sense of color.

7. refined in manners, language, etc.:

   Nice people wouldn't do such things.

   Synonyms: polite

8. virtuous; respectable; decorous:

   a nice girl.

9. suitable or proper:

   That was not a nice remark.

   Antonyms: improper

10. carefully neat in dress, habits, etc.

    Synonyms: finicky, finical

11. (especially of food) dainty or delicate.
12. having fastidious, finicky, or fussy tastes:

    They're much too nice in their dining habits to enjoy an outdoor barbecue.

    Synonyms: finicky, finical

13. Obsolete. coy, shy, or reluctant.
14. Obsolete. unimportant; trivial.
15. Obsolete. wanton.

Nice

²

[ nees ]

noun

1. a port in and the capital of Alpes-Maritimes, in southeastern France, on the Mediterranean: known as a vacation resort.

NICE

¹

/ naɪs /

acronym for

1. (in Britain) National Institute for Clinical Excellence: a body established in 1999 to provide authoritative guidance on current best practice in medicine and to promote high-quality cost-effective medical treatment in the NHS

Nice

²

/ nis /

noun

1. a city in SE France, on the Mediterranean: a leading resort of the French Riviera; founded by Phocaeans from Marseille in about the 3rd century bc . Pop: 342 738 (1999)

nice

³

/ naɪs /

adjective

1. pleasant or commendable

   a nice day

2. kind or friendly

   a nice gesture of help

3. good or satisfactory

   they made a nice job of it

4. subtle, delicate, or discriminating

   a nice point in the argument

5. precise; skilful

   a nice fit

6. rare.
   fastidious; respectable

   he was not too nice about his methods

7. obsolete.
   1. foolish or ignorant
   2. delicate
   3. shy; modest
   4. wanton
8. nice and
   pleasingly

   it's nice and cool

Nice

1. City in southeastern France on the Mediterranean Sea .

Sensitive Note

The semantic history of nice is quite varied, as the etymology and the obsolete senses attest, and any attempt to insist on only one of its present senses as correct will not be in keeping with the facts of actual usage. If any criticism is valid, it might be that the word is used too often and has become a cliché lacking the qualities of precision and intensity that are embodied in many of its synonyms.

Notes

Nice is the most famous resort of the French Riviera .

Derived Forms

• ˈniceness, noun
• ˈnicish, adjective
• ˈnicely, adverb

Other Words From

• nicely adverb
• niceness noun
• over·nice adjective
• over·nicely adverb
• over·niceness noun
• un·nice adjective
• un·nicely adverb
• un·niceness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of nice¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English: “foolish, stupid,” from Old French: “silly, simple,” from Latin nescius “ignorant, incapable,” equivalent to ne- negative prefix + sci- (stem of scīre “to know”; science ) + -us adjective suffix

Origin of nice²

From French, ( Provençal Niça ), from Latin Nīcaea, from Greek Nīkaía, proper noun use of adjective nīkaía “victorious,” from nī́kē “victory”

Word History and Origins

Origin of nice¹

C13 (originally: foolish): from Old French nice simple, silly, from Latin nescius ignorant, from nescīre to be ignorant; see nescience

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. make nice, to behave in a friendly, ingratiating, or conciliatory manner.
2. nice and, sufficiently:

   It's nice and warm in here.

Example Sentences

“One of the nice things about the race in Long Beach, it’s been there, and the city and the people have supported it,” Penske said.

From Los Angeles Times

You do nice things for us when it’s election time and you all come — and you go.’”

From Los Angeles Times

"Yeah, that's nice . . . you're the wrong gender," Stewart shoots back, before playfully shoving Barrymore off in an awkward moment that the host leans into by dramatically falling back on the couch.

From Salon

"Politics is tough, and it's, in many cases, not a very nice world but it is a nice world today," he said to Biden, who stepped down as the Democratic nominee in July.

From Salon

"Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love those bands, but it's nice to have something new for once."

From BBC