nice

[nahys]

See more synonyms for nice on Thesaurus.com

adjective, nic·er, nic·est.

pleasing; agreeable; delightful: a nice visit.
amiably pleasant; kind: They are always nice to strangers.
characterized by, showing, or requiring great accuracy, precision, skill, tact, care, or delicacy: nice workmanship; a nice shot; a nice handling of a crisis.

showing or indicating very small differences; minutely accurate, as instruments: a job that requires nice measurements.
minute, fine, or subtle: a nice distinction.
having or showing delicate, accurate perception: a nice sense of color.
refined in manners, language, etc.: Nice people wouldn't do such things.
virtuous; respectable; decorous: a nice girl.
suitable or proper: That was not a nice remark.
carefully neat in dress, habits, etc.
(especially of food) dainty or delicate.
having fastidious, finicky, or fussy tastes: They're much too nice in their dining habits to enjoy an outdoor barbecue.
Obsolete. coy, shy, or reluctant.
Obsolete. unimportant; trivial.
Obsolete. wanton.

Idioms

make nice, to behave in a friendly, ingratiating, or conciliatory manner.
nice and, sufficiently: It's nice and warm in here.

Origin of nice

1250–1300; Middle English: foolish, stupid < Old French: silly, simple < Latin nescius ignorant, incapable, equivalent to ne- negative prefix + sci- (stem of scīre to know; see science) + -us adj. suffix

Related formsnice·ly, adverbnice·ness, nouno·ver·nice, adjectiveo·ver·nice·ly, adverbo·ver·nice·ness, nounun·nice, adjectiveun·nice·ly, adverbun·nice·ness, noun

Can be confusednice niceness nicetynice Nicegneiss nice (see usage note at the current entry)

Synonyms for nice

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

2. friendly. 3. delicate, exact, exacting, critical, scrupulous, discriminating, discerning, particular. 7. polite. 10, 12. finical.

Antonyms for nice

1. unpleasant. 2. unkind. 3. careless. 9. improper.

Usage 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for nicely

happily, beautifully, perfectly, pleasantly, admirably, finely, accurately, correctly, agreeably, excellently, acceptably, amiably, creditably, desirably, distinctively, enjoyably, graciously, triumphantly, winningly, politely

Examples from the Web for nicely

Contemporary Examples of nicely

This was nicely explicated in an Atlantic article whose title says it all: Your Gut Bacteria Want You To Eat A Cupcake.
‘Good Poop’ Diet Is the Next Big Thing
Daniela Drake
October 7, 2014
But it nicely dramatizes the incentives that all participants in the system will soon face.
The Obamacare Death Spiral
David Frum
November 4, 2013
Nicely gridded up, and presented on the clean white walls of Peter Freeman gallery in New York, Castle's labels looked fantastic.
Are Butter Labels Art? And Copies of Them?
Blake Gopnik
October 4, 2013
He says he shouted at one: “You look like a princess walking so nicely and romantically.”
Why People Throw Shoes in Afghanistan
Ron Moreau & Sami Yousafzai
August 18, 2013
He took great pride in keeping her well fed, nicely dressed, and even taking her to church.
New New Fatherhood in the Inner City
Dana Goldstein
July 2, 2013

Historical Examples of nicely

Verloc, whose affair the police has managed to smother so nicely, was mediocre.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
Wash it well in warm water, and trim it nicely, taking off all the fat.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Pick them nicely, and wipe them clean, but do not wash them.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Nicely, 'Of course for this once—but in a general way I wouldn't do that.
Echoes of the War
J. M. Barrie
She's such a good girl, she was learning so nicely at the Communal School!
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for nicely

nice

adjective

pleasant or commendablea nice day
kind or friendlya nice gesture of help
good or satisfactorythey made a nice job of it
subtle, delicate, or discriminatinga nice point in the argument
precise; skilfula nice fit
rare fastidious; respectablehe was not too nice about his methods
obsolete
1. foolish or ignorant
2. delicate
3. shy; modest
4. wanton
nice and pleasinglyit's nice and cool

Derived Formsnicely, adverbniceness, nounnicish, adjective

Word Origin for nice

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

Nice

noun

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

n acronym for

(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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for nicely

adv.

early 14c., "foolishly," from nice + -ly (2). From c.1600 as "scrupulously;" 1714 as "in an agreeable fashion."

nice

adj.

late 13c., "foolish, stupid, senseless," from Old French nice (12c.) "careless, clumsy; weak; poor, needy; simple, stupid, silly, foolish," from Latin nescius "ignorant, unaware," literally "not-knowing," from ne- "not" (see un-) + stem of scire "to know" (see science). "The sense development has been extraordinary, even for an adj." [Weekley] -- from "timid" (pre-1300); to "fussy, fastidious" (late 14c.); to "dainty, delicate" (c.1400); to "precise, careful" (1500s, preserved in such terms as a nice distinction and nice and early); to "agreeable, delightful" (1769); to "kind, thoughtful" (1830).

"In many examples from the 16th and 17th centuries it is difficult to say in what particular sense the writer intended it to be taken." [OED]

By 1926, it was pronounced "too great a favorite with the ladies, who have charmed out of it all its individuality and converted it into a mere diffuser of vague and mild agreeableness." [Fowler]

"I am sure," cried Catherine, "I did not mean to say anything wrong; but it is a nice book, and why should I not call it so?"
"Very true," said Henry, "and this is a very nice day, and we are taking a very nice walk; and you are two very nice young ladies. Oh! It is a very nice word indeed! It does for everything." [Jane Austen, "Northanger Abbey," 1803]

nicely in Culture

Nice

[(nees)]

City in southeastern France on the Mediterranean Sea.

Note

Nice is the most famous resort of the French Riviera.