nicer; nicest
2
b
: appropriate, fitting
not a nice word for a formal occasion
She always wears nice clothes.
c
: well-executed
nice shot
3
a
: socially acceptable : well-bred
from a nice family
b
: virtuous, respectable
… I met nice girls whose skirts reached the ground.—
Jack London
Jack London4
: possessing, marked by, or demanding great or excessive precision (see precision entry 1 sense 2a) and delicacy
nice measurements
a nice distinction between these two words
5
a
: showing fastidious or finicky tastes : particular
too nice a palate to enjoy junk food
b
: exacting in requirements or standards : punctilious
a nice code of honor
6
obsolete
: trivial
niceness
noun
informal
: in a nice or pleasing way
They plan to fix up the place real nice.
He still had his bald spots, but the fur that he did have cleaned up nice.—Kate DiCamillo
Kate DiCamilloIn fact, the action is part of what made the findings redundant. The action mattered because it has, for the past two years, forced Microsoft to play nice. [=to behave nicely; to be cooperative and unaggressive in dealing with others]—Gary Rivlin
Gary RivlinBipartisanship may also be elusive if it means a hostile GOP majority has to play nice with a President it has tried to kick out of office.—Amy Borrus et al.
Amy Borrus et al.Examples of nice in a Sentence
Adjective
I hope you all had a nice time.
It's so nice to see you again.
It's nice to be back home.
It's nice to know that you're all right.
It would be nice to try something different.
We had a very nice dinner.
“Hello, my name is Sara.” “It's nice to meet you, Sara.”
It's nice to see you, Luis. How have you been?
She wears the nicest clothes.
He looks nice in his new suit.
Recent Examples on the Web
Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
Not easy to do, but nice to come through tonight.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2025
Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 24 Mar. 2023
The concept is simple: Each episode is an in-depth journey on a notable train somewhere around the world, with likable and very-earnestly-excited-about-trains-but-in-a-nice-calming-way host Teddy Wilson acting as a tour guide and pal throughout each trip.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2022
See All Example Sentences for nice
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
After spending the last two seasons together at the University of Minnesota, it’s been nice having each other to lean on — and to geek out with.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
Not easy to do, but nice to come through tonight.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2025
Adverb
The Terran 1 rocket sure cleans up nice.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 24 Mar. 2023
The concept is simple: Each episode is an in-depth journey on a notable train somewhere around the world, with likable and very-earnestly-excited-about-trains-but-in-a-nice-calming-way host Teddy Wilson acting as a tour guide and pal throughout each trip.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2022
See All Example Sentences for nice
Cite this Entry
“Nice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nice. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
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Etymology
Adjective
Middle English nice "foolish, stupid," from early French nice (same meaning), from Latin nescius "ignorant," from nescire "not to know," from ne- "not" and scire "to know" — related to science
Word Origin
Five hundred years ago, when nice was first used in English, it meant "foolish or stupid." This is not as surprising as it may seem, since it came through early French from the Latin nescius, meaning "ignorant." By the 16th century, the sense of being "very particular" or "finicky" had developed. In the 19th century, nice came to mean "pleasant or agreeable" and then "respectable," a sense quite unlike its original meaning.
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