nice
[ nahys ]
/ naɪs /
adjective, nic·er, nic·est.
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Idioms for nice
make nice, to behave in a friendly, ingratiating, or conciliatory manner.
nice and, sufficiently: It's nice and warm in here.
Origin of nice
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
usage note for nice
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.
OTHER WORDS FROM nice
Definition for nice (2 of 2)
Nice
[ nees ]
/ nis /
noun
a port in and the capital of Alpes-Maritimes, in southeastern France, on the Mediterranean: known as a vacation resort.
Origin of Nice
From French, (Provençal Niça ), from Latin Nīcaea, from Greek Nīkaía, proper noun use of adjective nīkaía “victorious,” from nī́kē “victory”
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for nice
British Dictionary definitions for nice (1 of 3)
nice
/ (naɪs) /
adjective
Derived forms of nice
nicely, adverbniceness, nounnicish, adjectiveWord 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 nice (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 nice (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
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Cultural definitions for nice
notes for Nice
Nice is the most famous resort of the French Riviera.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.