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What is the difference between good and nice?

good | nice |

In obsolete terms the difference between good and nice

is that good is real; actual; serious while nice is doubtful, as to the outcome; risky.

In colloquial terms the difference between good and nice

is that good is with "and", extremely while nice is nicely.

As adjectives the difference between good and nice

is that good is Of people.nice is silly, ignorant; foolish.

As interjections the difference between good and nice

is that good is that is good: an elliptical exclamation of satisfaction or commendation while nice is used to signify a job well done.

As adverbs the difference between good and nice

is that good is well; satisfactorily or thoroughly while nice is nicely.

As verbs the difference between good and nice

is that good is to thrive; fatten; prosper; improve while nice is to run a process with a specified (usually lower) priority.

As proper nouns the difference between good and nice

is that good is {{surname} while Nice is a city in southeast France on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, capital of the department of Alpes-Maritimes.

As a noun good

is the forces or behaviors that are the enemy of evil. Usually consists of helping others and general benevolence.

good

English

(wikipedia good)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) good, from (etyl) . Related to gather.

Alternative forms

* (poetic contraction)

Adjective

  • (lb) Of people.
  • #Acting in the interest of good; ethical.
  • #:
  • #*1891 , (Oscar Wilde), (The Picture of Dorian Gray) , Ch.6
  • #*:When we are happy, we are always good', but when we are ' good , we are not always happy.
  • #Competent or talented.
  • #:
  • #*(Robert South) (1634–1716)
  • #*:Those are generally good' at flattering who are ' good for nothing else.
  • #*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Michael Arlen), title= “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days, chapter=3/19/2
  • , passage=Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house?; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something?; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.}}
  • #Able to be depended on for the discharge of obligations incurred; of unimpaired credit.
  • #:
  • (lb)
  • #Useful for a particular purpose; functional.
  • #:
  • #*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= David Van Tassel], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/lee-dehaan Lee DeHaan
  • , title= Wild Plants to the Rescue , volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Plant breeding is always a numbers game.
  • #Effective.
  • #:
  • #*
  • #*:There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good , serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.
  • #(lb) Real; actual; serious.
  • #:
  • #*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • #*:Love no man in good earnest.
  • (lb) Of properties and qualities.
  • #(lb)
  • ##Edible; not stale or rotten.
  • ##:
  • ##Having a particularly pleasant taste.
  • ##:
  • ##* c. 1430' (reprinted '''1888 ), Thomas Austin, ed., ''Two Fifteenth-century Cookery-books. Harleian ms. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. ms. 4016 (ab. 1450), with Extracts from Ashmole ms. 1429, Laud ms. 553, & Douce ms. 55 [Early English Text Society, Original Series; 91], London: 374760, page 11:
  • #
    Soupes dorye. — Take gode almaunde mylke
  • ##* 1962' (quoting '''1381 text), (Hans Kurath) & Sherman M. Kuhn, eds., ''(Middle English Dictionary) , Ann Arbor, Mich.: (University of Michigan Press), , page 1242:
  • #
    dorr?̅', '''d?r?''' adj. & n. toste wyte bred and do yt in dischis, and ' god Almande mylk.
  • ##Being satisfying; meeting dietary requirements.
  • ##:
  • #Healthful.
  • #:
  • #Pleasant; enjoyable.
  • #:
  • #Favourable.
  • #:
  • #Beneficial; worthwhile.
  • #:
  • #*, chapter=22
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part.
  • #Adequate; sufficient; not fallacious.
  • #*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • #*:My reasons are both good and weighty.
  • (lb) With "and", extremely.
  • :
  • (lb) Holy.
  • :
  • (lb) Of quantities.
  • #Reasonable in amount.
  • #:
  • #Large in amount or size.
  • #:
  • #*
  • #*:The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line, which seems to have shown some ingenuity in avoiding them,.
  • #Entire.
  • #:
  • #*
  • #*:Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. No omnibus, cab, or conveyance ever built could contain a young man in such a rage. His mother lived at Pembridge Square, which is four good measured miles from Lincoln's Inn.
  • Synonyms
    * (having positive attributes) not bad, all right, satisfactory, decent * (healthful) well * (competent or talented) accomplished
    Antonyms
    * (having positive attributes) bad, poor * (ethical) bad, evil
    Derived terms
    * come from a good place * do well by doing good * fight the good fight * for good * good afternoon * good and * * good books * goodbye * good day * good drunk * gooden * good-for-nothing * good graces * good grief * goodish * good job * good morning * goodly * goodness * good night * good to go * good works * the good die young * too much of a good thing

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • That is good: an elliptical exclamation of satisfaction or commendation.
  • Good! I can leave now.

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) , all from the adjective.

    Adverb

  • (nonstandard) Well; satisfactorily or thoroughly.
  • * 1906 , Zane Grey, The Spirit of the Border: A Romance of the Early Settlers in the Ohio Valley
  • If Silvertip refuses to give you the horse, grab him before he can draw a weapon, and beat him good . You're big enough to do it.
  • * 2007 April 19, , WHYY, Pennsylvania [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9683874]
  • The one thing that we can't do...''is throw out the baby with the bathwater.''...'' We know our process works pretty darn good and, uh, it’s really sparked this amazing phenomenon of this''... high-quality website.
    Derived terms
    * but good

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) good, god, from (etyl) .

    Noun

  • (uncountable) The forces or behaviors that are the enemy of evil. Usually consists of helping others and general benevolence.
  • * , chapter=13
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good .}}
  • (countable) A result that is positive in the view of the speaker.
  • (uncountable) The abstract instantiation of goodness; that which possesses desirable qualities, promotes success, welfare, or happiness, is serviceable, fit, excellent, kind, benevolent, etc.
  • * Bible, Psalms iv. 6
  • There be many that say, Who will show us any good ?
  • * Jay
  • The good' of the whole community can be promoted only by advancing the ' good of each of the members composing it.
  • (countable, usually in plural) An item of merchandise.
  • * (William Shakespeare)
  • Thy lands and goods / Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate / Unto the state of Venice.
    Antonyms
    * (forces of good) bad, evil * (positive result) bad
    Derived terms
    * (item of merchandise) capital goods, consumer goods

    Etymology 4

    From (etyl) goden, godien, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To thrive; fatten; prosper; improve.
  • To make good; turn to good; improve.
  • To make improvements or repairs.
  • To benefit; gain.
  • To do good to (someone); benefit; cause to improve or gain.
  • To satisfy; indulge; gratify.
  • To flatter; congratulate oneself; anticipate.
  • Derived terms
    * (l)

    Etymology 5

    From English dialectal, from (etyl) , ultimately from the adjective. See above.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To furnish with dung; manure; fatten with manure; fertilise.
  • (Bishop Hall)
    Derived terms
    * (l)

    nice

    English

    Alternative forms

    * nyc (non-standard)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) nice, nyce, nys, from (etyl) nice, niche, .

    Adjective

    (er)
  • (obsolete) Silly, ignorant; foolish.
  • *, II.2:
  • There is nothing he seemed to be more carefull of than of his honesty, and observe a kinde of decencie of his person, and orderly decorum in his habits, were it on foot or on horsebacke. He was exceeding nice in performing his word or promise.
  • * 1999 , Joyce Crick, translating (Sigmund Freud), (The Interpretation of Dreams) , Oxford 2008, p.83:
  • But if I dispense with the dreams of neurotics, my main material, I cannot be too nice in my dealings with the remainder.
  • (obsolete) Particular as regards rules or qualities; strict.
  • * 1818 , (Jane Austen), (Persuasion) :
  • Good company requires only birth, education and manners, and with regard to education is not very nice . Birth and good manners are essential.
  • Showing]] or [[require, requiring great precision or sensitive discernment; subtle.
  • * 1914 : (Saki), :
  • "It's her own funeral, you know," said Sir Lulworth; "it's a nice point in etiquette how far one ought to show respect to one's own mortal remains."
  • * 1974 , (Lawrence Durrell), Monsieur , Faber & Faber 1992, p.131:
  • It would be a nice theological point to try and establish whether Ophis os Moslem or gnostic.
  • * 2006 , (Clive James), North Face of Soho , Picador 2007, p.242:
  • Why it should have attained such longevity is a nice question.
  • (obsolete) Doubtful, as to the outcome; risky.
  • * 1598 , (William Shakespeare), , IV.1:
  • To set so rich a maine / On the nice hazard of one doubtfull houre? It were not good.
  • * 1822 , T. Creevey, Reminiscences , 28 Jul.:
  • It has been a damned nice thing - the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life.
  • Respectable; virtuous.
  • Pleasant, satisfactory.
  • * 1998 , (Baha Men) -
  • When the party was nice , the party was jumpin' (Hey, Yippie, Yi, Yo)
  • * 2008 , Rachel Cooke, The Guardian , 20 Apr.:
  • "What's difficult is when you think someone is saying something nice about you, but you're not quite sure."
  • Of a person: friendly, attractive.
  • With "and", having intensive effect: extremely.
  • * , chapter=8
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=We toted in the wood and got the fire going nice and comfortable. Lord James still set in one of the chairs and Applegate had cabbaged the other and was hugging the stove.}}
    Quotations
    * 1710 , (Jonathan Swift), No. XIV *: I have strictly observed this rule, and my imagination this minute represents before me a certain great man famous for this talent, to the constant practice of which he owes his twenty years’ reputation of the most skilful head in England, for the management of nice affairs. * 1930 , , (The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case) *: Here's another nice mess you've gotten us into. * 1973 , Cockerel Chorus, Nice One, Cyril! *: Nice one, Cyril!
    Usage notes
    Sometimes used sarcastically to mean the opposite or to connote excess.
    Synonyms
    * charming, delightful, friendly, kind, lovely, pleasant, sweet * charming, delightful, lovely, pleasant * (having a pleasant taste or aroma) appetising/appetizing, delicious, moreish (informal), scrummy (slang), scrumptious (slang), tasty * (subtle) fine, subtle
    Antonyms
    * horrible, horrid, nasty * horrible, horrid, nasty * (having a pleasant taste or aroma) awful, disgusting, foul, horrible, horrid, nasty, nauseating, putrid, rancid, rank, sickening, distasteful, gross, unsatisfactory * naughty
    Derived terms
    * nice and + adjective * nice and easy * nice guy * nice guys finish last * nicely * niceness * nice round number * nicety * sugar and spice and everything nice

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (colloquial) Nicely.
  • Children, play nice .
    He dresses real nice .

    Interjection

    (en-interj)!
  • Used to signify a job well done.
  • Nice! I couldn't have done better.
  • Used to signify approval.
  • Is that your new car? Nice!

    Etymology 2

    Name of a Unix program used to invoke a script or program with a specified priority, with the implication that running at a lower priority is "nice" (kind, etc.) because it leaves more resources for others.

    Verb

    (nic)
  • (transitive, computing, Unix) To run a process with a specified (usually lower) priority.
  • Derived terms
    * renice