[syn: courteous, gracious, nice]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Nice \Nice\ (n[imac]s), a. [Compar. Nicer (n[imac]"s[~e]r);
superl. Nicest.] [OE., foolish, fr. OF. nice ignorant,
fool, fr. L. nescius ignorant; ne not + scius knowing, scire
to know. Perhaps influenced by E. nesh delicate, soft. See
No, and Science.]
1. Foolish; silly; simple; ignorant; also, weak; effeminate.
[Obs.] --Gower.
[1913 Webster]
But say that we ben wise and nothing nice.
--Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
2. Of trifling moment; unimportant; trivial. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
The letter was not nice, but full of charge
Of dear import. --Shak.
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3. Overscrupulous or exacting; hard to please or satisfy;
fastidious in small matters.
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Curious not knowing, not exact but nice. --Pope.
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And to taste
Think not I shall be nice. --Milton.
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4. Delicate; refined; dainty; pure.
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Dear love, continue nice and chaste. --Donne.
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A nice and subtile happiness. --Milton.
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5. Apprehending slight differences or delicate distinctions;
distinguishing accurately or minutely; carefully
discriminating; as, a nice taste or judgment. "Our author
happy in a judge so nice." --Pope. "Nice verbal
criticism." --Coleridge.
[1913 Webster]
6. Done or made with careful labor; suited to excite
admiration on account of exactness; evidencing great
skill; exact; fine; finished; as, nice proportions, nice
workmanship, a nice application; exactly or fastidiously
discriminated; requiring close discrimination; as, a nice
point of law, a nice distinction in philosophy.
[1913 Webster]
The difference is too nice
Where ends the virtue, or begins the vice. --Pope.
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7. Pleasing; agreeable; gratifying; delightful; good; as, a
nice party; a nice excursion; a nice day; a nice sauce,
etc. [Loosely & Colloquially]
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8. Pleasant; kind; as, a nice person.
[PJC]
9. Hence: Well-mannered; well-behaved; as, nice children.
[PJC]
He's making a list, checking it twice.
Gonna find out who's naughty or nice
Santa Claus is coming to town. --Song.
To make nice of, to be scrupulous about. [Obs.] --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Dainty; delicate; exquisite; fine; accurate; exact;
correct; precise; particular; pleasant; kind;
scrupulous; punctilious; fastidious; squeamish; finical;
effeminate; silly; well-mannered; well-behaved.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
nice
adj 1: pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or
appearance; "what a nice fellow you are and we all
thought you so nasty"- George Meredith; "nice manners";
"a nice dress"; "a nice face"; "a nice day"; "had a nice
time at the party"; "the corn and tomatoes are nice
today" [ant: awful, nasty]
2: socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous;
"from a decent family"; "a nice girl" [syn: decent, nice]
3: done with delicacy and skill; "a nice bit of craft"; "a job
requiring nice measurements with a micrometer"; "a nice shot"
[syn: nice, skillful]
4: excessively fastidious and easily disgusted; "too nice about
his food to take to camp cooking"; "so squeamish he would
only touch the toilet handle with his elbow" [syn: dainty,
nice, overnice, prissy, squeamish]
5: exhibiting courtesy and politeness; "a nice gesture" [syn:
courteous, gracious, nice]
n 1: a city in southeastern France on the Mediterranean; the
leading resort on the French Riviera
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 January 2023):
NICE
The Nonprofit International Consortium for Eiffel.