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nice

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The definition of nice is someone who is pleasant or agreeable or something that is in good condition and that is pleasing.

(adjective)

An example of nice is a description for a person who is friendly and who everyone likes.
An example of nice is a sofa in good condition from a good store.

See nice in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective nicer, nicest

difficult to please; fastidious; refined
delicate; precise; discriminative; subtle: a nice distinction
calling for great care, accuracy, tact, etc., as in handling or discrimination: a nice problem
1. able to make fine or delicate distinctions; delicately skillful; finely discriminating
2. minutely accurate, as an instrument
having high standards of conduct; scrupulous
1. agreeable; pleasant; delightful
2. attractive; pretty
3. courteous and considerate
4. conforming to approved social standards; respectable
5. in good taste
6. good; excellent
Obsolete
1. ignorant; foolish
2. wanton
3. coy; shy

Origin: ME, strange, lazy, foolish < OFr nice, nisce, stupid, foolish < L nescius, ignorant, not knowing < nescire, to be ignorant < ne-, not (see no) + scire, to know: see science

adverb nicer, nicest

well, pleasingly, attractively, etc.: variously regarded as substandard, dialectal, or informal

Related Forms:

nicely adverb
niceness noun

seaport & resort in SE France: pop. 342,000

See nice in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective nic·er, nic·est

Pleasing and agreeable in nature: had a nice time.
Having a pleasant or attractive appearance: a nice dress; a nice face.
Exhibiting courtesy and politeness: a nice gesture.
Of good character and reputation; respectable.
Overdelicate or fastidious; fussy.
Showing or requiring great precision or sensitive discernment; subtle: a nice distinction; a nice sense of style.
Done with delicacy and skill: a nice bit of craft.
Used as an intensive with and: nice and warm.
Obsolete
a. Wanton; profligate: “For when mine hours/Were nice and lucky, men did ransom lives/Of me for jests” (Shakespeare).
b. Affectedly modest; coy: “Ere . . . /The nice Morn on th' Indian steep,/From her cabin'd loop-hole peep” (John Milton).

Origin:

Origin: Middle English, foolish

Origin: , from Old French

Origin: , from Latin nescius, ignorant

Origin: , from nescīre, to be ignorant; see nescience

Related Forms:

niceˈly adverb

niceˈness noun

A city of southeast France on the Mediterranean Sea northeast of Cannes. Controlled by various royal houses after the 13th century, the city was finally ceded to France in 1860. It is the leading resort city of the French Riviera. Population: 348,000.

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