nice

correct, rectify, emend, remedy, redress, amend, reform, revise mean to make right what is wrong. correct implies taking action to remove errors, faults, deviations, defects <correct your spelling>. rectify implies a more essential changing to make something right, just, or properly controlled or directed <rectify a misguided policy>. emend specifically implies correction of a text or manuscript <emend a text>. remedy implies removing or making harmless a cause of trouble, harm, or evil <set out to remedy the evils of the world>. redress implies making compensation or reparation for an unfairness, injustice, or imbalance <redress past social injustices>. amend, reform, revise imply an improving by making corrective changes, amend usually suggesting slight changes <amend a law>, reform implying drastic change <plans to reform the court system>, and revise suggesting a careful examination of something and the making of necessary changes <revise the schedule>.

correct, accurate, exact, precise, nice, right mean conforming to fact, standard, or truth. correct usually implies freedom from fault or error <correct answers> <socially correct dress>. accurate implies fidelity to fact or truth attained by exercise of care <an accurate description>. exact stresses a very strict agreement with fact, standard, or truth <exact measurements>. precise adds to exact an emphasis on sharpness of definition or delimitation <precise calibration>. nice stresses great precision and delicacy of adjustment or discrimination <makes nice distinctions>. right is close to correct but has a stronger positive emphasis on conformity to fact or truth rather than mere absence of error or fault <the right thing to do>.

The English word nice came from an Old French word with the same spelling that meant “foolish.” This Old French word came in turn from a Latin word nescius that meant “ignorant.” At first, English nice meant “foolish” or “frivolous.” Later it came to mean “finicky” or “fussy.” Not until the 1700s did nice come to mean “pleasing” or “pleasant.”