nice

- 10 dictionary results

–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.

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.

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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

o·ver·nice, adjective

o·ver·nice·ly, adverb

o·ver·nice·ness, noun

un·nice, adjective

un·nice·ly, adverb

un·nice·ness, noun

—Can be confused: 1. nice, niceness, nicety; 2. nice, niceness, nicety; 3. nice, Nice; 4. gneiss, nice (see usage note at this entry).

—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.

–noun

a port in and the capital of Alpes-Maritimes, in SE France, on the Mediterranean: resort. 346,620.

—Can be confused: nice, Nice.

–noun

a department in SE France. 816,681; 1527 sq. mi. (3955 sq. km). Capital: Nice.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Link To nice

World English Dictionary

nice (naɪs)

—*adj*
1.	pleasant or commendable: a nice day
2.	kind or friendly: a nice gesture of help
3.	good or satisfactory: they made a nice job of it
4.	subtle, delicate, or discriminating: a nice point in the argument
5.	precise; skilful: a nice fit
6.	rare fastidious; respectable: he was not too nice about his methods
7.	obsolete
	a. foolish or ignorant
	b. delicate
	c. shy; modest
	d. wanton
8.	nice and pleasingly: it's nice and cool

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

'nicely

—*adv*

'niceness

—n

'nicish

—*adj*

Nice (French nis)

—n
	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 (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 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin & History

nice

late 13c., "foolish, stupid, senseless," from O.Fr. nice "silly, foolish," from L. nescius "ignorant," lit. "not-knowing," from ne- "not" (see un-) + stem of scire "to know." "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 16c.-17c. it is often difficult to determine exactly what is meant when a writer uses this word. 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"]

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cultural Dictionary

Nice [(nees)]

City in southeastern France on the Mediterranean Sea.