nice
adjective
- appreciated goodness
- polite
- Generally pleasant, pleasing, lovely, kind, polite
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈnaɪ̯s/ / /ˈnaːs/ / /ˈnɑ̟ɪ̯s/ / /niːs/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English nyce, nice, nys, from Old French nice, niche, nisce (“simple, foolish, ignorant”), from Latin nescius (“ignorant, not knowing”); compare nesciō (“to know not, be ignorant of”), from ne (“not”) + sciō (“to know”).
- Pleasant, satisfactory, complimentary.
“You weren’t nice to me this morning.”
“"It's a lot nicer than going round by the road; that is so dusty and hot," said Diana practically, peeping into her dinner basket and mentally calculating if the three juicy, toothsome, raspberry tarts reposing there were divided among ten girls, how many bites each girl would have.”
- Of a person: friendly, attractive.
“Yes, please tell me how Shillary is the nicest corporate oligarchical servant, and how she will lovingly sell out the people who voted for her to her banker masters, with a twinkle in her fellating eye.”
- Respectable; virtuous.
“What is a nice person like you doing in a place like this?”
“She was so nice, in fact, that she wouldn't let me put my hand underneath or even on top of her bra, and so I finished with her, although obviously I didn't tell her why.”
- Shows that the given adjective is desirable, or acts as a mild intensifier; pleasantly, quite.
“The soup is nice and hot.”
“We toted in the wood and got the fire going nice and comfortable. Lord James still set in one of the chairs and Applegate had cabbaged the other and was hugging the stove.”
- Giving a favorable review or having a favorable impression.
“For Candy Crush Saga, the critics were far nicer than the audience (7.9/10 vs. 3.1/10).”
- Showing refinement or delicacy, proper, seemly
“a nice way of putting it”
- Silly, ignorant; foolish.
“Old fashions please me best; I am not so nice To change true rules for odd inventions.”
- Particular in one's conduct; scrupulous, painstaking; choosy.
“There is nothing he seemed to be more carefull of than of his honesty, and observe a kinde of decencie of his person, and orderly decorum in his habits, were it on foot or on horsebacke. He was exceeding nice in performing his word or promise.”
“Mr Blifil, I am confident, understands himself better than to think of seeing my niece any more this morning, after what hath happened. Women are of a nice contexture; and our spirits, when disordered, are not to be recomposed in a moment.”
- Having particular tastes; fussy, fastidious.
“Choice, nice in eating; fastidiosus in edendo.”
- Particular as regards rules or qualities; strict.
““Well, my dear,” he deliberately began, “considering we never saw her before, she seems a very pretty sort of young lady; and I dare say she was very much pleased with you. She speaks a little too quick. A little quickness of voice there is which rather hurts the ear. But I believe I am nice; I do not like strange voices; and nobody speaks like you and poor Miss Taylor. ..."”
“"Good company requires only birth, education and manners, and with regard to education is not very nice. Birth and good manners are essential."”
- Showing or requiring great precision or sensitive discernment; subtle.
“"It's her own funeral, you know," said Sir Lulworth; "it's a nice point in etiquette how far one ought to show respect to one's own mortal remains."”
“It would be a nice theological point to try and establish whether Ophis is Moslem or gnostic.”
- Easily injured; delicate; dainty.
- Doubtful, as to the outcome; risky.
“[W]ere it good / To ſet the exact wealth of al our ſtates / Al at one caſt? to ſet ſo rich a maine / On the nice hazard of one doubtfull houre?”
“It has been a damned nice thing - the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life.”
adv
Etymology: From Middle English nyce, nice, nys, from Old French nice, niche, nisce (“simple, foolish, ignorant”), from Latin nescius (“ignorant, not knowing”); compare nesciō (“to know not, be ignorant of”), from ne (“not”) + sciō (“to know”).
- Nicely.
“Children, play nice.”
“He dresses real nice.”
intj
Etymology: From Middle English nyce, nice, nys, from Old French nice, niche, nisce (“simple, foolish, ignorant”), from Latin nescius (“ignorant, not knowing”); compare nesciō (“to know not, be ignorant of”), from ne (“not”) + sciō (“to know”).
- Used to signify a job well done.
“Nice! I couldn't have done better.”
- Used to signify approval.
“Is that your new car? Nice!”
name
Etymology: Borrowed from French Nice, from Latin Nīcaea, from Ancient Greek Νῑ́καια (Nī́kaia), named for a 4th-century-BCE victory of its colonizing Phocaean Greeks over local Ligurians, probably the Vediantii, from νῑ́κη (nī́kē, “victory”) + -ῐᾰ (-ĭă, “-ia: forming place names”). Doublet of Iznik and Nicaea.
- A coastal city, the capital of Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeast France.
“The Nice prosecutor’s office told CNN that an investigation has been opened into his death and an autopsy ordered. So far, authorities have not announced any charges related to Pormanove’s death.”
- A surname. (pronounced /ni:s/ or /naɪs/)
- A census-designated place in Lake County, California, United States.
noun
Etymology: From Middle English nyce, nice, nys, from Old French nice, niche, nisce (“simple, foolish, ignorant”), from Latin nescius (“ignorant, not knowing”); compare nesciō (“to know not, be ignorant of”), from ne (“not”) + sciō (“to know”).
- niceness.
“She had refused as kindly as she know how, using up as much nice as she had energy for because she was glad of his company when three o'clock rolled around and she started thinking about September.”
“We could debate forever about whether we have enough of one or too much of another. But I know one thing for sure: We never have too much nice.”
verb
Etymology: Name of a Unix program used to invoke a script or program with a specified priority, with the implication that running at a lower priority is "nice" (kind, etc.) because it leaves more resources for others.
- To run a process with a specified (usually lower) priority.