nice

[ nahys ]

/ naɪs /

|||

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.

Nearby words

nicam, nicaragua, nicaragua, lake, nicaraguan, niccolite, nice, nice guys finish last, nice nelly, nice-looking, nice-nelly, nice-nellyism

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

SYNONYMS FOR nice

2 friendly.

3 delicate, exact, exacting, critical, scrupulous, discriminating, discerning, particular.

7 polite.

10, 12 finical.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR nice ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR nice

1 unpleasant.

2 unkind.

3 careless.

9 improper.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR nice ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

nice·ly, adverbnice·ness, nouno·ver·nice, adjectiveo·ver·nice·ly, adverb

o·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)

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
But it nicely dramatizes the incentives that all participants in the system will soon face.
The Obamacare Death Spiral|David Frum|November 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

I felt like it nicely represented the dualism of her character.
The Modern ‘Lolita’: Dramatizing the Mind of a Female Pedophile in Alissa Nutting’s ‘Tampa’|Roxane Gay|June 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
"That will do nicely for a beginning, Johnnie," she said sweetly.
The Price|Francis Lynde
I would hint that Mr. Hines and similar zealots might disembarrass him of this load, if he asked them nicely.
And Even Now|Max Beerbohm
Here's my map, nicely done in pencil, with all the names marked.
The Youngest Girl in the Fifth|Angela Brazil
It has been told me that I was always clean and nicely dressed.
The True Story of My Life|Hans Christian Andersen
It was certainly a lovely lake, and, with its nicely wooded islands dotting its surface, recalled memories of Loch Lomond.
From John O'Groats to Land's End|Robert Naylor and John Naylor

British Dictionary definitions for nicely (1 of 3)

nice

/ (naɪs) /

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

foolish or ignorant
delicate
shy; modest
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

British Dictionary definitions for nicely (2 of 3)

Nice

/ (French nis) /

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)

British Dictionary definitions for nicely (3 of 3)

NICE

/ (naɪs) /

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 (1 of 2)

nicely

adv.

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

Word Origin and History for nicely (1 of 2)

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]

Culture definitions for nicely

Nice

[ (nees) ]

City in southeastern France on the Mediterranean Sea.

Note

Nice is the most famous resort of the French Riviera.

nice

adjective, nic·er, nic·est.

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