"Niceties" is a formal, semi-common word.

We often talk about "social niceties," sometimes not even saying the word "social" but just implying it, like this: "He shakes our hands but has no patience for other niceties, launching straight into his pitch." You might talk about people observing niceties, sticking to niceties, or standing upon niceties, meaning they're obeying the subtle, detailed rules of proper social behavior. And because niceties can be such fussy things, many people don't care for them at all: you might say that someone dispenses with the niceties, disregards the niceties, or shoves the niceties aside.

"Niceties" is also perfect for sarcastically referring to basic or important things as if they were fussy or unimportant: "A protein shake for dinner? Sure, who needs niceties like flavor or texture or chewability?" Here's the New York Times: "Traditional niceties like a comprehensible plot and characters got lost in the stew." And here's Nature: "[The US Department of Defense is] free to pour tens of millions of dollars into ambitious projects without waiting around for niceties such as peer review."

"Wasting no time on narrative niceties, the movie cuts right from the fight to a song-and-dance number."
  — Rachel Saltz, The New Yorker, 22 December 2019

"Police stressed that the investigation was at a very early stage. That some commentators on social media chose to ignore such niceties is regrettable but not surprising. The courts of Facebook and Twitter have often shown themselves to harbor all the regard for evidence of a Salem magistrate prosecuting charges of witchcraft in 17th century Massachusetts." 
  — Catherine Mayer, Time, 16 August 2014

has this page helped you understand "niceties"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "niceties" without saying "details" or "fine points."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(Some absolutely excellent book, show, movie, song, or performance) is alive to the niceties of (something)."

Example 1: "I love Sara Pennypacker's Pax, particularly the chapters that focus on the fox's mind. Here the narration is brisk, exciting, and alive to all the niceties of scent in the fox's world."

Example 2: "The accompaniments by Labadie's group were everything one could have hoped for: vigorous, deftly colored, alive to niceties of style and to the singer's expressive purposes."
  — John Von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2011

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "That's A New One!"

I'll define and describe an amusing term that Dictionary.com has recently embraced. See if you can come up with it, and if you need more hints, you can reveal them by highlighting the black bits. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. 

Try this one today:

According to Dictionary.com, it's "a day not easily distinguished from other days, or the phenomenon of days running together;" or, "a day on which one experiences the aftereffects of the previous night’s excessive alcohol or drug use."

It entered English around the year 2005.

It's one word.

It playfully combines two familiar words, one of them being... Thursday.

It starts with the letter... B.

Its number of syllables is...two.

Its first three letters are... BLU.

review this word:

1. A near opposite of NICETIES, in one of its most common senses, is

A. BILLETS DOUX: love letters, or gestures of deep devotion.
B. BROWN STUDIES: states of deep, gloomy contemplation.
C. BRASS TACKS: the real, fundamental bits of a social situation.

2. Ashley Gilbertson describes New York City, and New Yorkers, like this: "chaos, even in the middle of the night. The world's most ambitious people working, walking, buying, driving, selling, riding — the hustle — with _____ niceties. Get the hell out of the way."

A. infinite
B. no concern for societal
C. an aggressive sense of personal

Answers to the review questions: 1. C 2. B From the game: Blursday.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.