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• 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.

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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.

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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)

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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

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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

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Nice Cultural  

1. City in southeastern France on the Mediterranean Sea.

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Sensitivity

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

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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”

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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

“You want to position it right. As they get older, if they start having to take care of the parent, it’s nice to have another parent in the house.”

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026

It doesn’t matter if you are in New York or London or Tokyo—the standard likely helped the professionals who brought it to you to get a nice warm mug of tea just right.

From Slate ● Nov. 8, 2026

"It's one of the tourist attractions where we bring our guests. It's a nice place," says the 23-year-old.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

The area under Pei’s now-iconic pyramid, where most visitors enter and almost everyone must leave, has “very nice light,” said Mr. Leribault, and “each angle has been designed.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

It is a nice gesture but the dogs pile up on themselves, get tangled and turn inward.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

To restore order on the streets, authorities imposed localized curfews in parts of Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice on Monday night, restricting movement in areas hit by looting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Other measures restricting the movement of young people and gatherings were introduced in cities such as Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice and Lyon in the south, as well as Lille and other towns in the north.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Partial curfews variously restricting the movement of young people and gatherings were announced for cities including Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice and Lyon in the south as well as Lille and other towns in the north.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

If I want a really good steak, I’ll go to the Nice Guy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

"Good," or "I don't get this line" or "Nice details."

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Lifestyle changes, as well as treatment, could help to prevent more serious illness, says NICE.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

The draft guidance issued by health regulator NICE, external urges faster diagnosis along with better monitoring.

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

"Don't—don't you think it sounds kind of—well, kind of NICE, Peter?" she asked in a bashful sort of way.

From Mrs. Peter Rabbit by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess

"But Eisenkot can't just be a nicer man to receive a softer approach from this new Congress," she added.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

He had been living in Wiltshire until he discovered he had kidney cancer, had a kidney removed and moved back to Cornwall for what he called a "better, nicer pace of life".

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

One is an unsubtle effort to make us nicer and more open-minded toward this tech.

From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026

“They always say LSU has more money, the nicer facilities, bigger fan base, bigger stadium,” Chambliss said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

“Well, he obviously has a nicer grandmother than you do. College can wait.”

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

So if you see an influencer in a swanky hotel, for example, know that they are probably being paid to post content of what is likely one of the nicest rooms on the property.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

Brandreth described Dame Penelope as one of the nicest and kindest people.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

It was the nicest lounge breakfast spread I’ve seen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026

Others have taken to social media to describe him as "the nicest man you'll ever meet".

From BBC ● May 19, 2026

“You know, this is normally where’d I’d make some ‘friggin’ patriarchal’ joke to rile you up, but I’ll refrain because that might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Jupiter.”

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

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