Nice means pleasant, agreeable, or kind. When someone is nice to you, they treat you with friendliness and consideration. A nice day might have sunny weather and a gentle breeze. A nice meal tastes good and satisfies you.

The word is wonderfully flexible but a little bland. If you describe your vacation as “nice,” people don't know if you mean it was spectacularly fun or just okay. Writers often reach for more specific words: instead of “a nice person,” you might say someone is generous, thoughtful, or welcoming. Instead of “nice weather,” you could say perfect, glorious, or ideal.

Nice can also mean precise or subtle, though this use is less common today. A nice distinction is a careful, fine-grained difference between two similar things. When you make a nice adjustment to a machine, you're making a small, exact change.

The phrase “nice and” adds emphasis: “The water is nice and cold” means pleasantly cold, exactly as cold as you'd want it.

While there's nothing wrong with being nice or calling things nice, the word works best when you really do mean something is simply pleasant and agreeable without being extraordinary. When something truly impresses you, reach for a word with more punch.