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nice
2 dictionary results for: Nicest
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
nice       [nahys] Pronunciation Key
–adjective, nic·er, nic·est.
1.pleasing; agreeable; delightful: a nice visit.
2.amiably pleasant; kind: They are always nice to strangers.
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.
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.
8.virtuous; respectable; decorous: a nice girl.
9.suitable or proper: That was not a nice remark.
10.carefully neat in dress, habits, etc.
11.(esp. 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.
13.Obsolete. coy, shy, or reluctant.
14.Obsolete. unimportant; trivial.
15.Obsolete. wanton.
—Idioms
16.make nice, to behave in a friendly, ingratiating, or conciliatory manner.
17.nice and, sufficiently: It's nice and warm in here.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME: foolish, stupid < OF: silly, simple < L nescius ignorant, incapable, equiv. to ne- negative prefix + sci- (s. of scīre to know; see science) + -us adj. suffix]

—Related forms
nicely, adverb
niceness, noun

—Synonyms 2. friendly. 3. delicate, exact, exacting, critical, scrupulous, discriminating, discerning, particular. 7. polite. 10, 12. finical.
—Antonyms 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 (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
nice       (nīs)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.   nic·er, nic·est
  1. Pleasing and agreeable in nature: had a nice time.
  2. Having a pleasant or attractive appearance: a nice dress; a nice face.
  3. Exhibiting courtesy and politeness: a nice gesture.
  4. Of good character and reputation; respectable.
  5. Overdelicate or fastidious; fussy.
  6. Showing or requiring great precision or sensitive discernment; subtle: a nice distinction; a nice sense of style.
  7. Done with delicacy and skill: a nice bit of craft.
  8. Used as an intensive with and: nice and warm.
  9. Obsolete
    1. Wanton; profligate: "For when mine hours/Were nice and lucky, men did ransom lives/Of me for jests" (Shakespeare).
    2. Affectedly modest; coy: "Ere . . . /The nice Morn on th' Indian steep,/From her cabin'd loop-hole peep" (John Milton).


[Middle English, foolish, from Old French, from Latin nescius, ignorant, from nescīre, to be ignorant; see nescience.]

nice'ly adv., nice'ness n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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