nicety
Americannoun
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niceties
plural
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a delicate or fine point; punctilio.
niceties of protocol.
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a fine distinction; subtlety; detail.
the niceties of the filigree work.
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Usually niceties a refined, elegant, or choice feature, as of manner or living.
working hard to acquire the niceties of life.
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exactness or precision.
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the quality of being nice; niceness.
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delicacy of character, as of something requiring care or tact.
a matter of considerable nicety.
noun
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a subtle point of delicacy or distinction
a nicety of etiquette
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(usually plural) a refinement or delicacy
the niceties of first-class travel
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subtlety, delicacy, or precision
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excessive refinement; fastidiousness
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with precision
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of nicety
1275–1325; Middle English: silliness, extravagance, cleverness < Old French niceté. See nice, -ty 2
Explanation
Clearly, you're interested in the nicety of a word's meaning if you're checking out this website. A nicety is a fine detail or shade of meaning that anything — not just a word — can possess. Even the word nicety has niceties. The emphasis on detail can also refer to a precision or accuracy of sorts; if someone has judged something "to a nicety," they've judged it exactly. Yet another common meaning is in the sense of a minor aspect of polite behavior. Washing your hands before dinner is a "social nicety." So is covering your mouth when you cough. Now where would we be without niceties?
Vocabulary lists containing nicety
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Involving the people’s representatives in the decision is more than a constitutional nicety; it’s a key ingredient of success.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
The current version has clearly decided that’s a nicety he can no longer afford.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
Many of those places, however, cost money to access — whether it’s a gym membership or the social nicety to buy a latte at a coffee shop.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2023
The cartridge cases aren’t the only nicety, though.
From The Verge ● Jun. 8, 2022
I showed her to a nicety where I had seen her walking on the casks, that first old day, and she said, with a cold and careless look in that direction, “Did I?”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Beyond diplomatic niceties and behind closed doors, Beijing will be looking for small, concrete achievements, analysts said, but will stay "realistically pragmatic" given Trump's unpredictable nature.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
In Hunter’s play, Metcalf plays a character who has no time for sentimental niceties.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
Weeks before, his predecessor, Sir Philip Barton, had worked through the formal niceties of confirming Lord Mandelson's appointment to Washington, such as writing to the King about it on the 18th of December.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
He says it’s time to dispense with cocktail-party niceties about AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
After a while I noticed other niceties of his dress, the monogrammed cufflinks, the Italian loafers.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
