Jump To:

• nice
  nice

  adjective

  pleasing; agreeable; delightful.
• Nice
  Nice

  noun

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

  acronym

  (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

¹ American  

[nahys] / naɪs /

adjective

• nicer,
  comparative
• nicest
  superlative

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.

---

idioms

1. nice and, sufficiently.

   It's nice and warm in here.

2. make nice, to behave in a friendly, ingratiating, or conciliatory manner.

Nice ² American  

[nees] / nis /

noun

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

---

Nice ¹ British  

/ 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 ² British  

/ 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. pleasingly

   it's nice and cool

---

NICE ³ British  

/ naɪs /

acronym

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 Cultural  

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.

Discover More

Nice is the most famous resort of the French Riviera.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• niceness
  noun
• overniceness
  noun
• unniceness
  noun
• nicish
  adjective
• overnice
  adjective
• unnice
  adjective
• nicely
  adverb
• overnicely
  adverb
• unnicely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• nicer
  comparative
• nicest
  superlative

Etymology

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”; see 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”

Explanation

To be nice is to be pleasant and good-natured. Polite people and sunny days are nice. Nice people and situations are enjoyable and don't cause problems. If you say something rude (or honest) to your sibling, your parents might say "Be nice!" This word is a little vague and overused. Like interesting, it's hard to know what people really mean when they say nice. One meaning is easier to figure out: if you score a goal in hockey, that was a nice shot. That means you were skillful and did well — you shot the puck nicely.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nice Nice NICE nicer nicest

"When I'm tired sometimes a flashing dot might come back, and it's not nice when it does."

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

“That was really a nice way to decompress and reframe my experience.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

While the renovations and views are nice, one roommate is paying $2,250 for a smaller room that has no closet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

“Gold has seen a nice rally off recent lows as the dollar has pulled back,” says Jonathan Krinsky. technical strategist at BTIG.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

I should bring them a nice hostess gift; I should behave so charmingly that they later compliment me to my parents.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

French side Nice have released this classic home shirt and it is, dare we say, rather nice.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

After spending five-and-a-half weeks in Nice, France, last summer, Maddy Renne dropped three dress sizes, going from an eight to a two.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

“Novo Nordisk has been trying for decades to be Mr. Nice Guy,” said Per Hansen, an economist with Nordnet Bank in Copenhagen.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

The couple was active in charities for decades and this year was given the San Diego Nice Guy of the Year Award.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

“This looks excellent, Jessica. Nice vascular flow, good color...you’re already healing beautifully.”

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

Marie Anne Ledingham, consultant clinical advisor for women's and reproductive health at NICE, said recommending a "simple" annual review was an "important step".

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

"This is a genuinely exciting recommendation," says Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

Appeared in the April 29, 2026, print edition as 'Notable & Quotable: NICE'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

The daily pill Veoza was approved in 2023 - but has only now been recommended for treating moderate to severe symptoms of menopausal hot flushes and night sweats on the NHS, by NICE.

From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026

Now let us take "NICE Cakes" as the Subject of Proposition: that is, let us fix our thoughts on the LEFT-HAND half of the cupboard, where all the Cakes have attribute y, that is, "nice."

From The Game of Logic by Lewis Carroll

The veteran entertainer Christopher Biggins said Cricket was "unbelievably fantastic, I don't think I met a nicer man ever".

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

“They start idealizing their old culture; suddenly things seem much nicer than when they lived at home,” she said.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

We would have a much nicer, larger home for our family.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026

Mike Altamirano, 29, lives outside the city but loves visiting Arcadia, which he calls one of the nicer areas in Los Angeles County.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

“Did his parents get any nicer? Did he grow his hair out as an adult?”

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

Graham broke with Trump, however, after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden – a former Senate friend of Graham's who he once called "the nicest person I've ever met in politics".

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

And even the nicest hotels can be a deal in the offseason.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

His Clark Kent-esque transformation, from unimposing nice guy — “the nicest guy in the entire world,” Casparius said — to smirking menace whenever the day needs saving is the stuff of comic book legends.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026

McLaren's Lando Norris, the world champion, said after qualifying sixth in Melbourne: "We've come from the best cars ever made in Formula 1, and the nicest to drive, to probably the worst."

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026

“So maybe,” Calista said slowly, “your old school being a bunch of mean jerks was the nicest thing they could have done for you?”

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff