make nice

verb

To be friendly or conciliatory towards another, often in the context of maintaining good relations or resolving a conflict with the other person.

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Meanings

verbmake nice (third-person singular simple present makes nice, present participle making nice, simple past and past participle made nice)

present singular third person makes nice · participle present making nice · participle past made nice · past made nice

  1. USTo be friendly or conciliatory towards another, often in the context of maintaining good relations or resolving a conflict with the other person.

    And now he had to go make nice with the good doctor's grandma.

    1999, Gina Wilkins, Doctor in Disguise, page 18
    2 more examples

    [H]e either had to make nice with the guards or make nice with the prisoners. And frankly, the way the prisoners made nice scared the bejeesus out of him.

    2002, Dee Davis, Dark of the Night, page 31

    “A jackass? I'm trying to make nice.” “I don't need your nice. Go make nice with Angela.”

    2010, Catherine Wade, Let's Dish, page 76

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 客客氣氣 /客客气气
  • 客客氣氣 /客客气气 (kèkèqìqì)be friendly towards another
Finnish olla ystävällinen, olla mieliksi
  • olla ystävällinenbe friendly towards another
  • olla mieliksibe friendly towards another
  • sovitellabe friendly towards another
Cite this entry
APA

make nice. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20nice

MLA

“make nice.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20nice. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “make nice,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20nice.

Source: make nice on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.