nice
nice Lexical Profile
nice Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Pleasant, agreeable, or satisfactory; giving pleasure or comfort.
"We had a really nice walk along the riverbank this afternoon."
Kind, friendly, polite, and considerate toward others.
"The new neighbors were very nice and helped us carry our heavy boxes upstairs."
Subtle, fine, or requiring careful precision and discernment.
"The appellate judge drew a nice distinction between negligence and willful misconduct."
• interjection
Used to express approval, satisfaction, or congratulations.
"You passed the certification exam on your first try? Nice!"
• noun
A major coastal city and resort destination in southeastern France on the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur), serving as the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department along the Mediterranean Sea.
Word Nuance & Usage
While overwhelmingly used in everyday speech as a general term of approval ('a nice day'), in formal or legal contexts 'nice' retains its older sense of 'subtle, precise, or requiring careful distinction' (as in 'a nice distinction'). Additionally, when capitalized and pronounced /niːs/, it refers to the coastal city in southeastern France.
• Rhymes for nice
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 13th century from Old French nice ('foolish, simple, ignorant'), derived from Latin nescius ('ignorant, unaware'), from nescire ('not to know'). The word underwent a remarkable semantic shift over several centuries: from 'foolish' to 'coy or shy', then 'fastidious or dainty', 'precise or subtle', and finally 'pleasant and agreeable' by the late 18th century.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.