Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use nicety in a sentence

17 example sentences · noun, adjective

Nicety means a small detail or distinction. Example: “We met the new captain while we were taking enemy fire and were unable to observe the niceties of formal introductions.”

Examples of nicety by meaning

nounA small detail or distinction.

  • We met the new captain while we were taking enemy fire and were unable to observe the niceties of formal introductions.

nounSubtlety or precision of use; exactness; preciseness.

  • A rocket-propelled grenade doesn't have the nicety of a sniper round, but you must admit its effectiveness.

nounSynonym of social nicety.

  • But the traditional nicety began unraveling at least two or three election cycles ago.2012 August 27, Alex Mooney, “No more niceness: Obama, Romney try to rain on each other’s parade”, in CNN
  • And sometimes we're not too good with the old niceties and kindness towards those we care about.2023 August 31, William Meny & Paul Simms, “A Weekend at Morrigan Manor” (23:20 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 5...
  • It was never going to be a night for niceties.2024 June 16, David Hytner, “Jude Bellingham gives England winning start but Serbia make Southgate sweat”, in The Guardian

adjectiveBehaving in an unpleasant or spiteful way that is seemingly, or perceived as, pleasant or agreeable.

  • It's because I've had a lot of training on how to be nicety.2025 April 14, Keena Blum, “What comes to your mind when you see these people?”, in things your mom should've told you (YouTube)

More sentences with nicety

  • Yet, a romanticized ‘Barneyesque’ view of play remains primary, that play is a nicety, a simple extra.2023, Anna Beresin, Julia Bishop, “Conclusion: Covid in a Play Frame”, in Anna Beresin, Julia Bishop, editors, Play in a Covid Frame…. From the entry Barneyesque
  • In other words, expressiveness in the therapist was not just a social nicety, it enhanced recovery.2020, Juliet Koprowska, Communication and Interpersonal Skills in Social Work, page 37. From the entry social nicety
  • Cheers drive!' And with this little nicety reinstated, all was relatively well in Bristol town.2018 June 28, Wilf Merttens, Bristol Urban Legends: The Hotwells Crocodile and Other Stories, The History Press, →ISBN. From the entry drive
  • These detractors forget the prizement of nicety of the stroke that is required.2001 October 4, Arnold Hautain, The Mystery of Golf, page 63. From the entry prizement
  • She don't feel quite so out on a limb: two girls and a willy wufter balances the party to a nicety.2007, Daithidh MacEochaidh, Liquorish Durg: How Northern Naturalism Lost Its False Teethbooks.. From the entry fuzzy duck
  • "Yes, sure's Gord made liddle apples, 'er'll crack up, an' seems ter me thet would soot some people to a nicety."1907, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia…. From the entry to a nicety
  • Few of them care an oat for the niceties of the arrow sport, but for the young lords that may be on a hunt!1994, Susan King, The Black Thorne's Rose, page 21. From the entry oat
  • It was a dinner-jacket evening—not tails, because they would only be three—and though he had respected such niceties for years he found them suddenly ridiculous.1971, E. M. Forster, chapter 37, in Maurice, Penguin, published 1972, page 162. From the entry dinner jacket
  • “You mean there are two of them?” “Exactly.” “And Wilbert isn't the one I thought he was?” “You have grasped the position of affairs to a nicety.”1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XVII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC. From the entry to a nicety
  • The doctor should use formal greetings and establish rapport by asking about the patient's family, offering a drink, or performing some other social nicety before discussing the patient's medical problem.2011, Houman A. Sadri, Madelyn Flammia, Intercultural Communication. From the entry social nicety
  • The orderlies, only too well aware of the niceties of the colour-conscious system that prevailed, debated, then sent one of their number to ask the matron what should be done.1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter X, in Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, published 1943, page 163. From the entry precedence

Meaning of nicety

  1. noun A small detail or distinction.
  2. noun Subtlety or precision of use; exactness; preciseness.
  3. noun A delicacy of character or feeling usually from excessive refinement; fastidiousness.

Full definition of nicety

Questions about nicety in a sentence

How do you use nicety in a sentence?
Nicety is used as a noun and adjective. For example: “We met the new captain while we were taking enemy fire and were unable to observe the niceties of formal introductions.”
What is a short sentence with nicety?
“It was never going to be a night for niceties.”
What does nicety mean?
Nicety means a small detail or distinction.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: nicety (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use nicety in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/nicety. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.