nice

[[t]naɪs[/t]]

adj. nic•er, nic•est

1) pleasing; agreeable; delightful:

a nice visit[/ex]

2) amiable; pleasant; kind:

to be nice to strangers[/ex]

3) requiring or displaying great skill, tact, or precision:

a nice handling of a crisis[/ex]

4) indicating very small differences; minutely accurate, as instruments or measurements

5) minute, fine, or subtle:

a nice distinction[/ex]

6) having or showing delicate perception:

a nice sense of color[/ex]

7) refined in manners, language, etc

8) virtuous; respectable; decorous

9) suitable or proper:

a nice wedding[/ex]

10) carefully neat in dress, habits, etc

11) having fastidious or fussy tastes

12) Obs. coy, shy, or reluctant

13) Obs. wanton

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- nice and

Etymology: 1250–1300; ME: foolish, stupid < OF: silly, simple < L nescius ignorant, incapable =ne- negative prefix +-scius, adj. der. of scīre to know; cf. science nice′ly, adv. nice′ness, n. usage: The semantic history of nice is quite varied, as the etymology and the obsolete senses attest, and any attempt to insist on only one of its present senses as correct is not in keeping with the facts of actual usage. One criticism is that the word has come, through overuse, to lack precision and intensity.