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Neat vs Nice - What's the difference?

neat | nice | Synonyms |

In colloquial terms the difference between neat and nice

is that neat is good, excellent, desirable while nice is nicely.

As adjectives the difference between neat and nice

is that neat is clean, tidy; free from dirt or impurities while nice is silly, ignorant; foolish.

As a noun neat

is a bull or cow.

As an adverb nice is

nicely.

As an interjection nice is

used to signify a job well done.

As a verb nice is

to run a process with a specified (usually lower) priority.

As a proper noun Nice is

a city in southeast France on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, capital of the department of Alpes-Maritimes.

neat

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) nete, neat, from (etyl) . More at (l).

Noun

(en-noun)
  • (archaic) A bull or cow.
  • * 1663 ,
    • Sturdy he was, and no less able / Than Hercules to cleanse a stable; / As great a drover, and as great / A critic too, in hog or neat .
  • * Shakespeare
    • The steer, the heifer, and the calf / Are all called neat .
  • * Tusser
    • a neat and a sheep of his own.
  • (archaic) Cattle collectively.
  • * 1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , VI.9:
    • From thence into the open fields he fled, / Whereas the Heardes were keeping of their neat
    Derived terms
    * neatherd * neatfoot, neatsfoot

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) . See (l).

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Clean, tidy; free from dirt or impurities.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Then his sallow face brightened, for the hall had been carefully furnished, and was very clean. ¶ 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.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=Foreword citation , passage=A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away,
  • Free from contaminants; unadulterated, undiluted. Particularly of liquor and cocktails; see usage below.
  • :
  • (lb) Conditions with a liquid reagent or gas performed with no standard solvent or cosolvent.
  • :
  • (lb) With all deductions or allowances made; net.
  • Having a simple elegance or style; clean, trim, tidy, tasteful.
  • :
  • Well-executed or delivered; clever, skillful, precise.
  • :
  • (lb) Good, excellent, desirable.
  • :
  • *{{quote-news, year=2011, date=June 20, author=Phil Mickelson (being quoted), work=BBC News
    • , title= US Open: Jack Nicklaus tips Rory McIlroy for greatness , passage="You can tell that Rory has had this type of talent in him for some time now, and to see him putting it together is pretty neat to see."}}
    Coordinate terms
    * (undiluted liquor or cocktail) straight up, up, straight
    Antonyms
    * (undiluted liquor or cocktail) on the rocks
    Usage notes
    In bartending, neat' has the formal meaning “a liquor pour straight from the bottle into a glass, at room temperature, without ice or chilling”. This is contrasted with , and with drinks that are chilled but strained (stirred over ice to chill, but poured through a strainer so that there is no ice in the glass), which is formally referred to as up. However, the terminology is a point of significant confusion, with ' neat , up, straight up, and straight being used by bar patrons (and some bartenders) variously and ambiguously to mean either “unchilled” or “chilled” (but without ice in the glass), and hence clarification is often required.“ Up, Neat, Straight Up, or On the Rocks”, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Friday, May 9th, 2008Walkart, C.G. (2002). National Bartending Center Instruction Manual. Oceanside, California: Bartenders America, Inc. p. 106

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An artificial intelligence researcher who believes that solutions should be elegant, clear and provably correct. Compare scruffy.

    • References

    Anagrams

    * * * ----

    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
    Related terms
    * nicety
    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

    External links

    * * * * Nice at NiceDefinition.com

    Anagrams

    * English heteronyms English interjections 1000 English basic words