nice-nelly

nice-nel·ly

N n

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [nahys nel-ee]
- /naɪs ˈnɛl i/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [nahys nel-ee]
- /naɪs ˈnɛl i/

Definitions of nice-nelly word

adjective nice-nelly characterized by prudishness or excessive modesty: The entrance of his nice-nelly friend stopped the flow of risqué stories. 1
adjective nice-nelly being a euphemism; euphemistic: nice-nelly expressions. 1
noun nice-nelly a person who professes or exhibits excessive modesty, prudishness, or the like: too much of a nice nelly to have any fun. 1
noun nice-nelly nice-nellyism (def 2). 1

See all 4 definitions of nice-nelly

Information block about the term

Origin of nice-nelly

First appearance:

before 1920

One of the 12% newest English words

An Americanism dating back to 1920-25

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Nice-nelly

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Nice-nelly

nice-nelly popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 36% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 55% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.