nice
[ nahys ]
/ naɪs /
adjective, nic·er, nic·est.
Idioms for nice
make nice,
to behave in a friendly, ingratiating, or conciliatory manner.
nice and,
sufficiently: It's nice and warm in here.
Origin of nice
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
usage note for nice
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.
OTHER WORDS FROM nice
Words nearby nice
Example sentences from the Web for nicely
British Dictionary definitions for nicely (1 of 3)
nice
/ (naɪs) /
adjective
Derived forms of nice
nicely, adverb niceness, noun nicish, adjectiveWord Origin for nice
C13 (originally: foolish): from Old French
nice simple, silly, from Latin
nescius ignorant, from
nescīre to be ignorant; see
nescience
British Dictionary definitions for nicely (2 of 3)
Nice
/ (French nis) /
noun
a city in SE France, on the Mediterranean: a leading resort of the French Riviera; founded by Phocaeans from Marseille in about the 3rd century bc . Pop: 342 738 (1999)
British Dictionary definitions for nicely (3 of 3)
NICE
/ (naɪs) /
n acronym for
(in Britain) National Institute for Clinical Excellence: a body established in 1999 to provide authoritative guidance on current best practice in medicine and to promote high-quality cost-effective medical treatment in the NHS
Cultural definitions for nicely
notes for Nice
Nice is the most famous resort of the French
Riviera.