nice

Less common meanings

6. 6
   adverbcolloquial

   In a pleasing, kind, or skillful manner; nicely.

   If you ask her nice, she'll probably lend you the truck for the weekend.

   She sang real nice at the wedding reception.

   UsageCommon combinations include ask nice and play nice. In careful writing, use nicely.

   Similarwell, carefully, beautifully

   Oppositebadly, poorly

7. 7
   preciseadjective

   Calling for or marked by fine precision or delicate judgment; subtle.

   Whether the contract covered part-time workers was a nice point of law that took the court months to settle.

   The philosophers drew a nice distinction between knowledge and mere belief.

   UsageIn a nice point or a nice distinction it means fine and subtle, not pleasant.

   Similarfine, subtle, delicate, precise, discerning

   Oppositecrude, rough, broad

   Note

   The member of the older "exact" family still in current use: a nice point, a nice question or a nice distinction takes fine judgment to settle. Saki writes of "a nice point in etiquette" in Beasts and Super-Beasts (1914), Lawrence Durrell of "a nice theological point" (1974), and Clive James of "a nice question" (2006). The adjective describes the difficulty, not any pleasure in it. It sits most comfortably in measured, literary prose. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

   • Saki wrote the phrase “a nice point in etiquette”; the character speaking is Sir Lulworth in “Laura”. gutenberg.org
   • “Laura” first appeared in the Morning Post on 25 June 1912; it was collected in Beasts and Super-Beasts in 1914. annotated-saki.info
   • Lawrence Durrell wrote “a nice theological point” in Monsieur. en.wiktionary.org
   • Durrell’s Monsieur was first published in 1974. en.wikipedia.org
   • Clive James wrote “a nice question” in North Face of Soho. archive.clivejames.com
   • North Face of Soho was first published in 2006. archive.clivejames.com
8. 8
   kindnessnoununcountable

   The quality of being kind, friendly, or pleasant, thought of as something a person can have or show more or less of.

   After a twelve-hour shift, she had no nice left for rude customers.

   The coach told his players they needed less nice and more grit in the second half.

   Similarkindness, patience, friendliness

   Note

   The adjective turned into a mass noun, measured like patience or sugar: as much nice as she had energy for, too much nice. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Nice also functions as a mass noun meaning niceness. en.wiktionary.org
9. 9
   fussyadjectivedated

   Having very particular tastes; fussy and fastidious, hard to satisfy.

   Choice, nice in eating; fastidiosus in edendo.

   1898, Joseph Bosworth, T. Northcote Toller

   Similarfussy, fastidious, particular, finicky, choosy

   Oppositeunfussy, undemanding

   Note

   Fastidiousness of appetite and preference, with in before whatever the person is particular about: nice in eating. Bosworth and Toller's An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (1882–1898) glosses an Old English word as "choice, nice in eating," matching Latin fastidiosus. The sense is dated, and modern readers will hear "pleasant." A phrase like a nice eater therefore needs context before it comes across as "a fussy eater." Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • Bosworth and Toller’s An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary gives the quoted English gloss and corresponding Latin for the Old English adjective cís. lrc.la.utexas.edu
   • First published in parts in 1882–1898; 1898 dates the collected volume. en.wikisource.org
10. 10
    adjectivearchaic

    Very particular and exacting about rules, standards, or right conduct; scrupulous.

    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.

    1999, Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams

    Note

    Here the particularity is moral: care over promises, dealings and decorum. Florio's 1603 translation of Montaigne calls a man "exceeding nice in performing his word." The sense survives as a deliberate archaism. Joyce Crick's 1999 translation of Freud uses "cannot be too nice" to render German wählerisch. Unlike the fussy-about-taste meaning, this one concerns how a person acts, not what they will accept. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • John Florio's translation of Montaigne was first published in 1603. florios-montaigne.org
    • The translation describes a man's scrupulous observance of promises using the quoted wording. stoics.com
    • Joyce Crick's translation of Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams appeared in 1999. en.wikipedia.org
    • Crick uses the quoted English wording to translate wählerisch. en.wiktionary.org
    • Freud's corresponding German passage contains wählerisch. gutenberg.org
11. 11
    adjectiveobsolete

    Easily injured or damaged; delicate and dainty in constitution.

    Note

    Fragility of body or material: a nice constitution was one that took harm easily. It shares the idea of delicacy with older senses of refinement, but where those praise, this one warns. The sense is obsolete, so use it only to echo older writing. Unless the context points clearly to weakness, readers will hear "pleasant." Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Nice had a historical sense denoting fragility or susceptibility to injury. en.wiktionary.org
    • Nice also has senses involving refinement and delicacy. en.wiktionary.org
12. 12
    adjectiveobsolete

    Foolish, silly, or ignorant in understanding or behavior.

    Old fashions please me best; I am not so nice To change true rules for odd inventions.

    c. 1590, William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”

    Note

    The meaning closest to the word's roots: Latin nescius, "not knowing," came into English through Old French nice, "simple, foolish, ignorant." Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew still uses it. "I am not so nice / To change true rules for odd inventions" means too sensible to swap old ways for new fads. The sense is obsolete, so read nice as "foolish" in older writing only when the pleasant meaning makes no sense. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • English nice derives through Old French nice, meaning simple, foolish or ignorant, from Latin nescius, meaning not knowing. en.wiktionary.org
    • The Taming of the Shrew is by William Shakespeare. gutenberg.org
    • The quoted words occur in the play; Bianca speaks them. gutenberg.org
    • Nice means foolish in this passage, making the paraphrase 'too sensible to swap old ways for new fads' reasonable. en.wiktionary.org
    • The foolish sense is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
13. 13
    adjectiveobsolete

    Doubtful as to the outcome; risky and hanging in the balance.

    It has been a damned nice thing - the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life.

    1822, T. Creevey, Reminiscences

    [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?

    c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth,”

    Note

    The risk lies in how close the result is. Shakespeare's The First Part of Henry the Fourth speaks of setting all "on the nice hazard of one doubtful hour." After Waterloo in 1815, Thomas Creevey recorded the Duke of Wellington calling the battle "a damned nice thing — the nearest run thing you ever saw." In both, nice means close-run and uncertain, not pleasant. The sense is obsolete, and modern readers need the context to hear it. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 8 facts

    • This historical sense concerns a precarious or uncertain outcome. en.wiktionary.org
    • The First Part of Henry the Fourth is by William Shakespeare. gutenberg.org
    • The quoted phrase occurs in the play, spoken by Hotspur about risking their fortunes. en.wikisource.org
    • The Battle of Waterloo took place in 1815. en.wikipedia.org
    • Creevey recorded Wellington describing the battle with the quoted words. lordbyron.org
    • Nice means precarious or uncertain in the Shakespeare quotation. en.wikisource.org
    • Wellington's nice refers to how narrowly the battle was won. lordbyron.org
    • The risky or uncertain sense is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
14. 14
    adjectiveironic

    Applied sarcastically to something bad, careless, or rude, expressing irritation or disapproval instead of praise.

    A nice mess you've made of the kitchen, and the guests arrive in an hour.

    Nice manners, cutting in front of everyone in line like that.

    Similarfine, great, lovely

    Note

    Only tone and context separate this from the ordinary "pleasant" sense: the words are the same, but the thing described is plainly bad, so the listener hears a complaint.

15. 15
    verb

    To run a process at a specified, usually lower, priority so it claims fewer system resources.