plural niceties
1
: the quality or state of being nice
2
: an elegant, delicate, or civilized feature
enjoy the niceties of life
3
: a fine point or distinction : subtlety
the niceties of table manners
4
: careful attention to details : delicate exactness : precision
5
: delicacy of taste or feeling : fastidiousness
Phrases
to a nicety
: exactly, accurately
… liked doing a quiet business in which they were sure of their customers, and could calculate their returns to a nicety.—
George Eliot
George EliotSynonyms
Examples of nicety in a Sentence
knows all the niceties of diplomatic protocol
a woman too fond of the niceties of urban living to even consider becoming a farmer's wife
Recent Examples on the Web
Others, such as the Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative columnist Westbrook Pegler, skipped the niceties and went straight to accusing their fellow citizens of being enemy saboteurs.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2024
The camera advances without the niceties of expertise, conveying the bodily and mental effort of every step taken toward Israeli forces.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2024
With five weeks until Election Day, this is not the time for petit niceties but rather petty needling.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 30 Sep. 2024
In Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League dispensed with procedural niceties in its quest to break its rivals ahead of the recent general election.
—Paul Staniland, Foreign Affairs, 4 Jan. 2019
See all Example Sentences for nicety 
Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2024
The camera advances without the niceties of expertise, conveying the bodily and mental effort of every step taken toward Israeli forces.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2024
With five weeks until Election Day, this is not the time for petit niceties but rather petty needling.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 30 Sep. 2024
In Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League dispensed with procedural niceties in its quest to break its rivals ahead of the recent general election.
—Paul Staniland, Foreign Affairs, 4 Jan. 2019
See all Example Sentences for nicety
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nicety.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near nicety
Cite this Entry
“Nicety.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nicety. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nicety
noun
nice·ty
ˈnī-sət-ē 
-stē
plural niceties
1
: a dainty, delicate, or elegant thing
enjoy the niceties of life
2
: a small point or detail
niceties of table manners
3
: careful attention to details
nicety is needed in making watches
4
: the point at which a thing is at its best
roasted to a nicety
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