Nearby Words
adjective, nic·er, nic·est.
Idioms1.
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.
EXPANDminute, 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.
(especially 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.
COLLAPSEObsolete. wanton.
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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Niceness
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
Origin:
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
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 forms
nice·ly, adverb
nice·ness, noun
o·ver·nice, adjective
o·ver·nice·ly, adverb
o·ver·nice·ness, noun
EXPANDCan be confused: 1. nice, niceness, nicety; 2. nice, Nice; 3. gneiss, nice (see usage note at the current entry).
Synonyms
2. friendly. 3. delicate, exact, exacting, critical, scrupulous, discriminating, discerning, particular. 7. polite. 10, 12. finical.
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.
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.
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 Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To niceness
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
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);
EXPANDto "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]
COLLAPSE
"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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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
Nice [(nees)]City in southeastern France on the Mediterranean Sea.
Note: Nice is the most famous resort of the French Riviera.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com
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