Nicier

Nicier is not a standard English word for comparative usage of the adjective nice. In contemporary English, the correct comparative form of nice is nicer. Therefore, nicier is typically treated as a nonstandard variant, a misspelling, or a typographical error rather than a recognized word with a distinct meaning.

The formation of comparatives in English generally adds -er to adjectives (for nice: nice → nicer). The variant -ier is used in cases where the base adjective ends in -y or -ie (for example, happy → happier, easy → easier). Since nice ends with -e, the usual and accepted form is nicer, not nicier. Some readers may encounter nicier due to mistaken analogies or typographical slips, but it is not considered correct in standard usage.

Usage guidance: In formal writing, scholarly works, journalism, and most everyday communication, use nicer when you mean “more pleasant or agreeable.” If you see nicier, treat it as a potential error or nonstandard spelling and correct it to nicer. The noun form related to the word is niceness; the superlative is nicest.

Origin-wise, nice originated in Middle English and historically carried senses related to silly or foolish before shifting toward pleasant meanings. The regular comparative for its positive sense became nicer, and nicier has not established a recognized place in modern English morphology.

See also: nice, nicer, nicest, niceness.