see|Nice
English
Etymology
Latin nescius = "not knowing".
Original usage: "A nice distinction", meaning a distinction so subtle it would only be made by the ignorant. Similar in meaning to the phrase "a moot point". The illogical association of "nice" with good feelings probably arose from the loss of the original meaning and a false interpretation of the word's usage.
Pronunciation
AHD|nīs, IPA|/naɪs/, SAMPA|/naIs/
audio|en-us-nice.ogg|Audio (US)
rhymes|aɪs
Adjective
en-adj|nic|er
- Of a thing or person or event, pleasant, pretty:
#: What a nice dress!
- Admirable, enviable:
#: A third-term senator holds a nice level of seniority.
- Innocent; gentle; distinguished by perceived class or virtue:
#: What is a nice person like you doing in a place like this?
- show|Showing or require|requiring great precision or sensitive discernment; subtle
#: a nice distinction
- neat; elegantly succinct:
#: Fermat believed he had a nice proof of his theorem.
- Bordering on failure or disaster; succeeding by the narrowest of margins:
#: "It has been a damned nice thing - the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life" -- The Duke of Wellington shortly after the Battle of Waterloo, 1815.
- colloquial With "and", excellent, pleasing:
#: The soup is nice and hot.
Sometimes used sarcastically to mean the opposite or to connote excess.
Synonyms
(easy to like: person): charming, delightful, lovely, pleasant, sweet
(easy to like: thing): charming, delightful, lovely, pleasant
(having a pleasant taste or aroma): appetising/appetizing, delicious, moreish (informal), scrummy (slang), scrumptious (slang), tasty
(subtle): fine, subtle
Antonyms
(easy to like: person): horrible, horrid, nasty
(easy to like: thing): horrible, horrid, nasty
(having a pleasant taste or aroma): awful, disgusting, foul, horrible, horrid, nasty, nauseating, putrid, rancid, rank, sickening,distasteful,gross, unsatisfactory
(subtle):
Related terms
nicely
niceness
nicety
Translations
trans-top|easy to like
Arabic: Arab|ØسÙ� IPAchar|(ħássan)
Chinese: zh-ts|�好�|�好� (m�ih�ode)
Czech: hezký, pÅ�Ãjemný, milý
Dutch: aardig, aardige, sympathiek, sympathieke, leuk, leuke, aangenaam, aangename, fijn, fijne
Finnish: kiva#Finnish|kiva (colloquial), mukava, sympaattinen (of people)
French: (person) gentil m, gentille f, sympathique m|f, sympa (informal) m and f; (thing) agréable
German: freundlich, sympathisch, lieb, nett
Greek: καλ�� (kalós) m
Hebrew: he-translation|× ×�×�×�|nekhmád m, he-translation|× ×�×�×�×�|nekhmadá f
Hungarian: kellemes, szép
trans-mid
Italian: (person) simpatico m, simpatica f, (thing) piacevole m and f
Japanese: 快� (�����, kokoroyoi)
Korean: �� (joheun)
Norwegian: hyggelig, sympatisk
Polish: mi�y, przyjemny
Portuguese: bonito, agradável, simpático
Russian: милÑ�й (mÃlyj) of a person, пÑ�иÑ�Ñ�нÑ�й (prijátnyj) of a thing
Slovak: prÃjemný, pÄ�kný
Spanish: simpático m, simpática f, agradable, amable
Swedish: sympatisk
Turkish: ho�, güzel, iyi
trans-bottom
trans-top|pleasant to look at
Czech: hezký m, p�kný m, krásný m,
Dutch: aantrekkelijk, aantrekkelijke, mooi, mooie, knap, knappe
French: beau m, belle f, joli m, jolie f
Greek: ��αία� (oréas) m, ��αία (oréa) f, ��αίο (oréo) n
Hebrew: he-translation|×�פ×�|yafé m, he-translation|×�פ×�|yafá f, he-translation|× ×¢×�|na`é m, he-translation|× ×¢×�|na`á f
trans-mid
Italian: bello m, bella f
Norwegian: pen
Russian: Ñ�импаÑ�иÑ�нÑ�й (simpatÃÄ�nyj)
Spanish: bonito m, bonita f, bello m, bella f
trans-bottom
trans-top|having a pleasant taste or aroma
Dutch: lekker, lekkere, aangenaam, aangename
French: bon m, bonne f
German: lecker, angenehm
Greek: ν���ιμο� (nóstimo) m, ν���ιμη (nóstimi) f, ν���ιμο (nóstimo) n (taste)
Hebrew: he-translation|× ×¢×�×�|na`Ãm m, he-translation|× ×¢×�×�×�|ne`imá f
trans-mid
Italian: buono m, buona f
Polish: mi�y
Spanish: rico, bueno
trans-bottom
trans-top|showing or requiring great precision or sensitive discernment
Dutch: fijn, fijne
German: super, schön, wunderbar, toll, geil
trans-mid
Norwegian: fin
Russian: �онкий (tónkij)
trans-bottom
Translations to be checked
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checktrans
ttbc|Bulgarian: п�и��ен, доб��, ��бав
ttbc|Chinese: å®�人ç�� (yÃrén de)
ttbc|German: schön, aufmerksam
ttbc|Irish: deas
ttbc|Vietnamese: �ẹp
Interjection
nice!
- Used to signify a job well done.
#: Nice! I couldn't have done better.
Category:English heteronyms
Category:English interjections
Category:Positive words
et:nice
el:nice
fr:nice
ko:nice
io:nice
id:nice
it:nice
lt:nice
hu:nice
ja:nice
pl:nice
pt:nice
ru:nice
simple:nice
fi:nice
vi:nice
tr:nice
zh:nice
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