nice
Part of speech: adj
adv
intj
noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
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”).
Inflected forms:
form: nicer
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: nicest
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: nyc
pos: adj
tags: alternative
nonstandard
form: noice
pos: adj
tags: alternative
slang
form: nicer
pos: adv
tags: comparative
form: nicest
pos: adv
tags: superlative
form: nyc
pos: adv
tags: alternative
nonstandard
form: noice
pos: adv
tags: alternative
slang
form: nice!
pos: intj
tags: canonical
form: nyc
pos: intj
tags: alternative
nonstandard
form: noice
pos: intj
tags: alternative
slang
form: nyc
pos: noun
tags: alternative
nonstandard
form: noice
pos: noun
tags: alternative
slang
form: nices
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: nicing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: niced
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: niced
pos: verb
tags: past
form: nyc
pos: verb
tags: alternative
nonstandard
form: noice
pos: verb
tags: alternative
slang
Senses:
gloss: Pleasant, satisfactory, complimentary.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: 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.
When the party was nice, the party was jumpin' (Hey, Yippie, Yi, Yo)
What's difficult is when you think someone is saying something nice about you, but you're not quite sure.
gloss: Of a person: friendly, attractive.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: 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.
gloss: Respectable; virtuous.
pos: adj
examples: 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.
gloss: Shows that the given adjective is desirable, or acts as a mild intensifier; pleasantly, quite.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: 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.
gloss: Giving a favorable review or having a favorable impression.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: For Candy Crush Saga, the critics were far nicer than the audience (7.9/10 vs. 3.1/10).
gloss: Showing refinement or delicacy, proper, seemly
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: a nice way of putting it
gloss: Silly, ignorant; foolish.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: Old fashions please me best; I am not so nice
To change true rules for odd inventions.
gloss: Particular in one's conduct; scrupulous, painstaking; choosy.
pos: adj
tags: archaic
examples: 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.
But if I dispense with the dreams of neurotics, my main material, I cannot be too nice [translating wählerisch] in my dealings with the remainder.
gloss: Having particular tastes; fussy, fastidious.
pos: adj
tags: dated
examples: Choice, nice in eating; fastidiosus in edendo.
gloss: Particular as regards rules or qualities; strict.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: “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."
gloss: Showing or requiring great precision or sensitive discernment; subtle.
pos: adj
examples: "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.
Why it should have attained such longevity is a nice question.
gloss: Easily injured; delicate; dainty.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
gloss: Doubtful, as to the outcome; risky.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: [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.
gloss: Nicely.
pos: adv
tags: colloquial
examples: Children, play nice.
He dresses real nice.
This riesling's going down nice.
gloss: Used to signify a job well done.
pos: intj
examples: Nice! I couldn't have done better.
gloss: Used to signify approval.
pos: intj
examples: Is that your new car? Nice!
gloss: niceness.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
examples: 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.
It is the absence of rules and too much nice that are more likely to produce terror.
gloss: To run a process with a specified (usually lower) priority.
pos: verb
tags: Unix
transitive
Synonyms: delightful
friendly
kind
lovely
pleasant
sweet
Antonyms: horrible
horrid
nasty
awful
disgusting
foul
nauseating
putrid
rancid
rank
sickening
distasteful
gross
unsatisfactory
naughty
Related words: nicety
Translations: