What does nicety mean?
Word: Nicety
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Nicety means a small, exact point of correct behaviour or language. It is often used in the plural, niceties.
How do you spell nicety?
Syllables: ni - ce - ty
Tricky part: Say the word quickly and the middle vowel fades until it sounds like an i. Students then write nicity, but that vowel is an e.
Watch out for: nicity, nicaty
Memory tip: E is for exact: a nicety is an exact little point, and an e sits in the middle of it.
Nicety in a sentence
Example 1: New players soon learn the niceties of how to shake hands after a match.
Example 2: My aunt taught me every nicety of writing a formal letter.
Example 3: The speaker ignored the usual niceties and went straight to his point.
Fun Fact
In Middle English a nicety was a piece of foolish conduct, for the word goes back to a Latin word meaning 'ignorant'. The sense of a fine point came later.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
niccety
a) n
b) t
c) y
d) c
Show answer
d) c. One letter has been typed twice, and the noun needs it only once.
Mingle-Mangle
The sentence hides a jumbled word. Choose the word:
No cyiten of seating guests at a dinner escapes our careful hostess.
a) novelty
b) ninety
c) naivety
d) nicety
Show answer
d) nicety. Six letters with a c and one n fit this word alone.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word nicety as used in the sentence:
One nicety of the new scoring rule confused even the senior players.
a) joke
b) reward
c) mistake
d) detail
Show answer
d) detail. A small point in a rule is one detail of it.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. entrepreneur 2. hierarchy 3. connoisseur 4. nicetty
a) a fine point that only careful people notice
b) a person who starts a business
c) a system with ranks one above the other
d) an expert judge of art, food or music
Show answer
a) a fine point that only careful people notice. Doubling the t spoils the noun, so find the meaning that fits it.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why might a chess coach skip the niceties in a first lesson?
a) Beginners need the basic moves first.
b) The board has too few squares.
c) The game has no written rules.
d) Older players never learn the game.
Show answer
a) Beginners need the basic moves first.
2. A social nicety might be ____.
a) cooking rice for the family
b) writing a short note of thanks
c) paying the electricity bill
d) catching the morning school bus
Show answer
b) writing a short note of thanks
