nicety
/ˈnaɪsɪti/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.70 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A delicacy of character or feeling usually from excessive refinement; fastidiousness.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "We met the new captain while we were taking enemy fire and were unable to observe the niceties of formal introductions."
- "the fineness and niceties of words"
- ""But," the writer, Dr. Beattie, adds, "this is a needless nicety, and, if adopted, would introduce a confusion into the grammatical art. {...}""
- "It’s just that when I’ve been stripped of my possessions, my dignity and any semblance of personal space and then strapped in for a multihour spell in the world’s most cramped and crappy bar car, the little niceties go a long way toward keeping me – keeping everyone – sane."
- "A rocket-propelled grenade doesn't have the nicety of a sniper round, but you must admit its effectiveness."
- "Afterwards I took it back when it was borne in upon me startlingly with what extreme nicety he had estimated the time requisite for the ‘affair.’"
Etymology
From Middle English nicetee, from Old French niceté (“simpleness, foolishness”), from nice (“simple, foolish”); equivalent to nice + -e- + -ty.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: nicetee, niceté