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Antonyms for nice


Grammar : Adj
Spell : nahys
Phonetic Transcription : naɪs



Definition of nice

Origin :
  • late 13c., "foolish, stupid, senseless," from Old French nice (12c.) "careless, clumsy; weak; poor, needy; simple, stupid, silly, foolish," from Latin nescius "ignorant, unaware," literally "not-knowing," from ne- "not" (see un-) + stem of scire "to know" (see science). "The sense development has been extraordinary, even for an adj." [Weekley] -- from "timid" (pre-1300); to "fussy, fastidious" (late 14c.); to "dainty, delicate" (c.1400); to "precise, careful" (1500s, preserved in such terms as a nice distinction and nice and early); to "agreeable, delightful" (1769); to "kind, thoughtful" (1830).
  • "In many examples from the 16th and 17th centuries it is difficult to say in what particular sense the writer intended it to be taken." [OED]
  • By 1926, it was pronounced "too great a favorite with the ladies, who have charmed out of it all its individuality and converted it into a mere diffuser of vague and mild agreeableness." [Fowler]
  • "I am sure," cried Catherine, "I did not mean to say anything wrong; but it is a nice book, and why should I not call it so?""Very true," said Henry, "and this is a very nice day, and we are taking a very nice walk; and you are two very nice young ladies. Oh! It is a very nice word indeed! It does for everything." [Jane Austen, "Northanger Abbey," 1803]
  • adj likable, agreeable
  • adj precise, neat, refined
Example sentences :
  • Rained lightly last night, and we had a nice shower this morning.
  • Extract from : « Explorations in Australia » by John Forrest
  • "Nice place to study in, sir," said Thompson, as we walked along.
  • Extract from : « Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327 » by Various
  • "It certainly is nice to be liked," returned Kathleen softly.
  • Extract from : « Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus » by Jessie Graham Flower
  • It's nice to be so tired, and to know one can sleep as long as one wants.
  • Extract from : « Ballads of a Bohemian » by Robert W. Service
  • You haven't said a word about all the nice things you did for the girls.
  • Extract from : « Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus » by Jessie Graham Flower
  • She was nice and friendly to us to-day, and I'm willin' to trust her to-morrow.
  • Extract from : « Ester Ried Yet Speaking » by Isabella Alden
  • Mart, I've got tickets to a show,—a nice place,—and I want you to go along.
  • Extract from : « Ester Ried Yet Speaking » by Isabella Alden
  • But don't you really think that people have a right to have any nice times?
  • Extract from : « Ester Ried Yet Speaking » by Isabella Alden
  • A nice operation indeed, to make me at once one-eyed and one-armed.
  • Extract from : « The Imaginary Invalid » by Molire
  • I felt as if I were amusing a nice boy; he hardly came to my shoulder.
  • Extract from : « The Bacillus of Beauty » by Harriet Stark

Synonyms for nice

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019