nice

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See also: Nice, NICE, -nice, and niče

English

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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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

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nice (comparative nicer, superlative nicest)

  1. (chiefly informal) Pleasant, satisfactory. [from 18th c.]
    • 1908 June, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, Boston, Mass.: L[ouis] C[oues] Page & Company, published August 1909 (11th printing), →OCLC:
      "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.
    • 1998, “Who Let the Dogs Out?”, performed by Baha Men:
      When the party was nice, the party was jumpin' (Hey, Yippie, Yi, Yo)
    • 2008 April 19, Rachel Cooke, quoting David Lodge, “Nice work”, in The Observer‎[1], →ISSN:
      What's difficult is when you think someone is saying something nice about you, but you're not quite sure.
  2. (chiefly informal) Of a person: friendly, attractive. [from 18th c.]
    • 2016 February 13, Gene Lyons, anonymous quotee, “Understanding the 'Bernie Bros'”, in The Daily Journal‎[2], volume 83, number 37, page A11:
      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.
  3. Respectable; virtuous. [from 18th c.]
    What is a nice person like you doing in a place like this?
    • 1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 14:
      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.
  4. (with and, chiefly informal) Shows that the given adjective is desirable, or acts as a mild intensifier; pleasantly, quite. [from 18th c.]
    The soup is nice and hot.
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
      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.
  5. (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]
  6. (chiefly informal) Showing refinement or delicacy, proper, seemly
    a nice way of putting it
  7. (obsolete) Silly, ignorant; foolish. [14th–17th c.]
  8. (now rare) Particular in one's conduct; scrupulous, painstaking; choosy. [from 14th c.]
    • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 2, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
      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.
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling:
      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.
    • 1999, Sigmund Freud, translated by Joyce Crick, The Interpretation of Dreams, Oxford, published 2008, page 83:
      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.
  9. (dated) Having particular tastes; fussy, fastidious. [from 14th c.]
  10. (obsolete) Particular as regards rules or qualities; strict. [16th–19th c.]
    • 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter 14, in Emma: […], volume II, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC:
      “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. ..."
    • 1818, Jane Austen, chapter 16, in Persuasion:
      "Good company requires only birth, education and manners, and with regard to education is not very nice. Birth and good manners are essential."
  11. Showing or requiring great precision or sensitive discernment; subtle. [from 16th c.]
    • 1914, Saki, Laura:
      "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."
    • 1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 131:
      It would be a nice theological point to try and establish whether Ophis is Moslem or gnostic.
    • 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador, published 2007, page 242:
      Why it should have attained such longevity is a nice question.
  12. (obsolete) Easily injured; delicate; dainty.
  13. (obsolete) Doubtful, as to the outcome; risky. [16th–19th c.]
    • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
      [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?
      Is it good / To bet all of our wealth / On one throw of the dice? To place so high a stake / On the risky hazard of one doubtful hour?
    • 1822 July 28, T. Creevey, Reminiscences:
      It has been a damned nice thing - the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life.
Usage notes
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Sometimes used sarcastically to mean the opposite or to connote excess:

  • 1710, Jonathan Swift, The Examiner No. XIV:
    I have strictly observed this rule, and my imagination this minute represents before me a certain great man famous for this talent, to the constant practice of which he owes his twenty years’ reputation of the most skilful head in England, for the management of nice affairs.
  • 1930, H.M. Walker, The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case:
    Here's another nice mess you've gotten us into.
  • 1973, Cockerel Chorus, Nice One, Cyril!:
    Nice one, Cyril!
Synonyms
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Antonyms
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Derived terms
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Terms derived from nice (adjective)
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Descendants
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  • → Dutch: nice
  • → German: nice
  • → Danish: nice
  • → Japanese: ナイス
  • → Polish: najs
  • → Swedish: najs, nice
  • → Norwegian:
    • Norwegian Bokmål: nice
Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Adverb

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nice (comparative nicer, superlative nicest)

  1. (colloquial) Nicely.
    Children, play nice.
    He dresses real nice.
    • 2002, Gina Riley, Jane Turner, That's Unusual: Scripts from Kath and Kim, Series 2, page 245:
      This riesling's going down nice.

Interjection

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nice!

  1. Used to signify a job well done.
    Nice! I couldn't have done better.
  2. Used to signify approval.
    Is that your new car? Nice!
Translations
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Noun

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nice (uncountable)

  1. niceness.
    • 2000, Dana Stabenow, Midnight Come Again, →ISBN, page 111:
      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.
    • 2013, Todd Whitaker, What Great Teachers Do Differently: 17 Things That Matter Most, →ISBN:
      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.
    • 2014, Jean Illsley Clarke, Connie Dawson, David Bredehoft, How Much Is Too Much?, →ISBN:
      It is the absence of rules and too much nice that are more likely to produce terror.

Etymology 2

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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

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nice (third-person singular simple present nices, present participle nicing, simple past and past participle niced)

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
  1. (transitive, computing, Unix) To run a process with a specified (usually lower) priority.
Derived terms
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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Czech

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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nice

  1. dative/locative singular of nika

Anagrams

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Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English nice.

Adjective

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nice (used only predicatively, not comparable)

  1. (slang) nice
    Haar nieuwe album is echt nice.
    Her new album is really nice.

French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old French nice, inherited from Latin nescius.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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nice (plural nices)

  1. (archaic) candid, naive
    • 1907, Colette, La retraite sentimentale, page 41:
      Oui, crédulement, vous ne comprenez pas? Entendez donc que j’ai cru, plus nice qu’une pensionnaire, au pouvoir exclusif de cet inconnu que je fuyais !
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

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Further reading

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German

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English nice.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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nice (strong nominative masculine singular nicer, comparative (rare) nicer, superlative (extremely rare) am nicesten)

  1. (colloquial) good, nice
    • 2020 December 8, Sara Tomšić, “Die Zukunft, das ist die grüne Samtcouch”, in ZEITmagazin‎[5]:
      Na gut. Und auch, wenn ich nur das eine Regal hatte – in der Schule konnte ich durch dich mitreden. Ja, Pax, voll nice und geräumig, der Poäng-Sessel, mega gemütlich.
      Fine. And even if I only had that one shelf – thanks to you, I had a say in conversations at school. Oh, Pax, all nice and spacious, and the Poäng armchair, super comfortable.
    • 2021, “Feeling”, performed by Fatoni & Dexter:
      Ich steh' im Club / Seh' ziemlich nice aus / Ah, wobei, die Schuhe / Ne, scheiß drauf, ich seh' nice aus
      I'm at the club / Lookin' pretty good / Actually, these shoes / Nah, fuck it, I look good

Declension

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Positive forms of nice
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist nice sie ist nice es ist nice sie sind nice
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative nicer nice nices nice
genitive nicen nicer nicen nicer
dative nicem nicer nicem nicen
accusative nicen nice nices nice
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der nice die nice das nice die nicen
genitive des nicen der nicen des nicen der nicen
dative dem nicen der nicen dem nicen den nicen
accusative den nicen die nice das nice die nicen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein nicer eine nice ein nices (keine) nicen
genitive eines nicen einer nicen eines nicen (keiner) nicen
dative einem nicen einer nicen einem nicen (keinen) nicen
accusative einen nicen eine nice ein nices (keine) nicen
Comparative forms of nice
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist nicer1 sie ist nicer1 es ist nicer1 sie sind nicer1
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative nicerer1 nicere1 niceres1 nicere1
genitive niceren1 nicerer1 niceren1 nicerer1
dative nicerem1 nicerer1 nicerem1 niceren1
accusative niceren1 nicere1 niceres1 nicere1
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der nicere1 die nicere1 das nicere1 die niceren1
genitive des niceren1 der niceren1 des niceren1 der niceren1
dative dem niceren1 der niceren1 dem niceren1 den niceren1
accusative den niceren1 die nicere1 das nicere1 die niceren1
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein nicerer1 eine nicere1 ein niceres1 (keine) niceren1
genitive eines niceren1 einer niceren1 eines niceren1 (keiner) niceren1
dative einem niceren1 einer niceren1 einem niceren1 (keinen) niceren1
accusative einen niceren1 eine nicere1 ein niceres1 (keine) niceren1

1Rare.

Superlative forms of nice
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist am nicesten1 sie ist am nicesten1 es ist am nicesten1 sie sind am nicesten1
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative nicester1 niceste1 nicestes1 niceste1
genitive nicesten1 nicester1 nicesten1 nicester1
dative nicestem1 nicester1 nicestem1 nicesten1
accusative nicesten1 niceste1 nicestes1 niceste1
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der niceste1 die niceste1 das niceste1 die nicesten1
genitive des nicesten1 der nicesten1 des nicesten1 der nicesten1
dative dem nicesten1 der nicesten1 dem nicesten1 den nicesten1
accusative den nicesten1 die niceste1 das niceste1 die nicesten1
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein nicester1 eine niceste1 ein nicestes1 (keine) nicesten1
genitive eines nicesten1 einer nicesten1 eines nicesten1 (keiner) nicesten1
dative einem nicesten1 einer nicesten1 einem nicesten1 (keinen) nicesten1
accusative einen nicesten1 eine niceste1 ein nicestes1 (keine) nicesten1

1Extremely rare.

Further reading

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Middle English

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Adjective

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nice

  1. Alternative form of nyce

Swedish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English nice.

Adjective

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nice

  1. (slang) Alternative form of najs (“nice”)

Turkish

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Etymology 1

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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

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Adjective

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nice

  1. many
Synonyms
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Etymology 2

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Ultimately from Proto-Turkic *nē- (“interrogative archetype”).

Adverb

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nice

  1. (dialectal or poetic) how
Synonyms
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