Dictionary / nice
nice
- adjective
- adverb
- interjection
- noun
- verb
- from Old French
Pleasant, satisfactory, complimentary.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “nice” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
adjective · etymology 1
- informalPleasant, satisfactory, complimentary.
When the party was nice, the party was jumpin' (Hey, Yippie, Yi, Yo)1998, “Who Let the Dogs Out?”, performed by Baha Men:
- informalOf a person: friendly, attractive.
You weren’t nice to me this morning.
- Respectable; virtuous.
What is a nice person like you doing in a place like this?
- informalShows that the given adjective is desirable, or acts as a mild intensifier; pleasantly, quite.
The soup is nice and hot.
- informalGiving 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).
- informalShowing refinement or delicacy, proper, seemly
a nice way of putting it
- 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."1914, Saki, Laura:
Older & obsolete senses (6)
- obsoleteSilly, ignorant; foolish.
- archaicParticular in one's conduct; scrupulous, painstaking; choosy.
- datedHaving particular tastes; fussy, fastidious.
- obsoleteParticular as regards rules or qualities; strict.
- obsoleteEasily injured; delicate; dainty.
- obsoleteDoubtful, as to the outcome; risky.
adverb · etymology 1
- colloquialNicely.
Children, play nice.
interjection · etymology 1
- Used to signify a job well done.
Nice! I couldn't have done better.
- Used to signify approval.
Is that your new car? Nice!
noun · etymology 1
- uncountableniceness.
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.2000, Dana Stabenow, Midnight Come Again, →ISBN, page 111:
verb · etymology 2
- UnixtransitiveTo run a process with a specified (usually lower) priority.
Cross-check: WordNet senses (6)
- nouna city in southeastern France on the Mediterranean; the leading resort on the French Riviera
- adjectivepleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance; - George Meredith
- adjectivesocially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous — also: decent
- adjectivedone with delicacy and skill — also: skillful
- adjectiveexcessively fastidious and easily disgusted — also: dainty, overnice, prissy, squeamish
- adjectiveexhibiting courtesy and politeness — also: courteous, gracious
Synonyms: charming, delightful, friendly, kind, lovely, pleasant, sweet, appetising, appetizing, delicious, moreish, scrummy
Antonyms: horrible, horrid, nasty, awful, disgusting, foul, nauseating, putrid
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
Etymology 1 (adjective, adverb, interjection, noun)
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)nice
- Middle Englishnyce
- Old Frenchnice
- Latinnescius “ignorant, not knowing”
- Latinne “not” + sciō “to know”
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”).
Etymology 2 (verb)
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.
Derivatives — words built from “nice”
Phrases & compounds
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “nice” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “nice” came from before it was English.
Etymology 1 (adjective, adverb, interjection, noun)
Etymology 2 (verb)
The source does not trace this sense to an earlier language.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
nice a. [OE., foolish, fr. OF. nice ignorant, fool, fr. L. nescius ignorant; ne not + scius knowing, scire to know. Perhaps influenced by E. nesh delicate, soft. See No, and Science.]
- Foolish; silly; simple; ignorant; also, weak; effeminate.
- Of trifling moment; unimportant; trivial.
- Overscrupulous or exacting; hard to please or satisfy; fastidious in small matters.
- Delicate; refined; dainty; pure; -- of people.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
adjectiveMeaning: Pleasant, satisfactory, complimentary.
When the party was nice, the party was jumpin' (Hey, Yippie, Yi, Yo)1998, “Who Let the Dogs Out?”, performed by Baha Men:
What's difficult is when you think someone is saying something nice about you, but you're not quite sure.2008 April 19, Rachel Cooke, quoting David Lodge, “Nice work”, in The Observer, →ISSN, archived from the original on 23 Jun 2021:
adjectiveMeaning: Of a person: friendly, attractive.
You weren’t nice to me this morning.
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.2016 February 13, Gene Lyons, anonymous quotee, “Understanding the 'Bernie Bros'”, in The Daily Journal, volume 83, number 37, page A11:
adjectiveMeaning: 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.1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 14:
adjectiveMeaning: 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.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
adjectiveMeaning: 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).
adjectiveMeaning: Showing refinement or delicacy, proper, seemly
a nice way of putting it
adjectiveMeaning: pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance; - George Meredith
what a nice fellow you are and we all thought you so nasty
nice manners
adjectiveMeaning: socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous
a nice girl
adjectiveMeaning: done with delicacy and skill
a nice bit of craft
a job requiring nice measurements with a micrometer
adjectiveMeaning: excessively fastidious and easily disgusted
too nice about his food to take to camp cooking
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
nice
/naɪ̯s/ · nice
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
nice
/naɪ̯s/ · nice · adjective, adverb, interjection, noun, verb
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “nice” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — Which meaning is it?
“You weren’t nice to me this morning.”
Circle the meaning used.
“What is a nice person like you doing in a place like this?”
Circle the meaning used.
“The soup is nice and hot.”
Circle the meaning used.
Step 4 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “nice” and what each means:
Step 5 — Original meaning
The earliest traceable form is Latin nescius. What did it mean?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 6 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — nice
Which meaning, sentence 1: A. Of a person: friendly, attractive.
Which meaning, sentence 2: C. Respectable; virtuous.
Which meaning, sentence 3: C. Shows that the given adjective is desirable, or acts as a mild intensifier; pleasantly, quite.
Origin: A. Old French (Old French nice)
Journey: English nice ← Middle English nyce ← Old French nice ← Latin nescius ← Latin ne + sciō
Some derivatives: nice-but-dim, nicefem, niceish, niceling, nice-looking, nicely, nicen, nice-nelly
Original meaning: Latin nescius — “ignorant, not knowing”
Built from: ne “not” + sciō “to know”
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”).
Sources: Wiktionary “nice” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nice#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/nice