English Online Dictionary. What means nice? What does nice mean?
English
Alternative forms
- nyc (“non-standard”)
- noice (slang)
Pronunciation
- enPR: nīs, IPA(key): /naɪs/
- (India) IPA(key): /nɑɪs/, /nɑjs/
- (Falkland Islands English) IPA(key): /nəɪs/
- Rhymes: -aɪs
- Homophone: gneiss
Etymology 1
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”).
Adjective
nice (comparative nicer, superlative nicest)
- (chiefly informal) Pleasant, satisfactory. [from 18th c.]
- (chiefly informal) Of a person: friendly, attractive. [from 18th c.]
- Respectable; virtuous. [from 18th c.]
- (with and, chiefly informal) Shows that the given adjective is desirable, or acts as a mild intensifier; pleasantly, quite. [from 18th c.]
- (chiefly informal) 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. 3.2/10). [3]
- (chiefly informal) Showing refinement or delicacy, proper, seemly
- (obsolete) Silly, ignorant; foolish. [14th–17th c.]
- (now rare) Particular in one's conduct; scrupulous, painstaking; choosy. [from 14th c.]
- (dated) Having particular tastes; fussy, fastidious. [from 14th c.]
- (obsolete) Particular as regards rules or qualities; strict. [16th–19th c.]
- Showing or requiring great precision or sensitive discernment; subtle. [from 16th c.]
- (obsolete) Easily injured; delicate; dainty.
- (obsolete) Doubtful, as to the outcome; risky. [16th–19th c.]
Usage notes
Sometimes used sarcastically to mean the opposite or to connote excess:
Synonyms
- (easy to like: person): charming, delightful, friendly, kind, lovely, pleasant, sweet
- (easy to like: thing): charming, delightful, lovely, pleasant
- (having a pleasant taste or aroma): appetising/appetizing, delicious, moreish (informal), scrummy (slang), scrumptious (slang), tasty
- (subtle): fine, subtle
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “easy to like: person”): horrible, horrid, nasty
- (antonym(s) of “easy to like: thing”): horrible, horrid, nasty
- (antonym(s) of “having a pleasant taste or aroma”): awful, disgusting, foul, horrible, horrid, nasty, nauseating, putrid, rancid, rank, sickening, distasteful, gross, unsatisfactory
- (antonym(s) of “respectable; virtuous”): naughty
Derived terms
Related terms
- nicety
Descendants
Translations
Adverb
nice (comparative nicer, superlative nicest)
- (colloquial) Nicely.
Interjection
nice!
- Used to signify a job well done.
- Used to signify approval.
Translations
Noun
nice (uncountable)
- niceness.
Etymology 2
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.
Verb
nice (third-person singular simple present nices, present participle nicing, simple past and past participle niced)
- (transitive, computing, Unix) To run a process with a specified (usually lower) priority.
Derived terms
- renice
Further reading
- “nice”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “nice”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
- “nice”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- Nice at NiceDefinition.com
Anagrams
- Ince, Niec, cien, cine, cine-, icen
Czech
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈnɪt͡sɛ]
- Rhymes: -ɪtsɛ
- Hyphenation: ni‧ce
Noun
nice
- dative/locative singular of nika
Anagrams
- Ince
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from English nice.
Adjective
nice (comparative nicer, superlative meest nice or nicest)
- (slang) nice
Declension
French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French nice, inherited from Latin nescius.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nis/
- Rhymes: -is
Adjective
nice (plural nices)
- (archaic) candid, naive
Derived terms
- nicet
Further reading
- “nice”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
German
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English nice.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /naɪ̯s/
Adjective
nice (strong nominative masculine singular nicer, comparative (rare) nicer, superlative (extremely rare) am nicesten)
- (colloquial) good, nice
Declension
Further reading
- “nice” in Duden online
- “nice” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “nice”, in Online-Wortschatz-Informationssystem Deutsch (in German), Mannheim: Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, 2008–
Middle English
Adjective
nice
- Alternative form of nyce
Swedish
Etymology
Borrowed from English nice.
Adjective
nice
- (slang) Alternative form of najs (“nice”)
Turkish
Etymology 1
From Ottoman Turkish نیچه (nice, “how much”), from Proto-Turkic *nēče, equative form of *nē (“what”). See ne (“what”), cognate to Karakhanid ناجا (nēčē, “how much”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [niˈd͡ʒe]
Adjective
nice
- many
Synonyms
- çok
Etymology 2
Ultimately from Proto-Turkic *nē- (“interrogative archetype”).
Adverb
nice
- (dialectal or poetic) how
Synonyms
- nasıl