glutinous

American  

[gloot-n-uhs] / ˈglut n əs /

adjective

1. of the nature of glue; gluey; viscid; sticky.

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glutinous British  

/ ˈɡluːtɪnəs, ˌɡluːtɪˈnɒsɪtɪ /

adjective

1. resembling glue in texture; sticky

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Other Word Forms

• glutinosity noun
• glutinously adverb
• glutinousness noun
• unglutinosity noun
• unglutinous adjective
• unglutinously adverb
• unglutinousness noun

Etymology

Origin of glutinous

1375–1425; late Middle English; < Latin glūtinōsus gluey, sticky. See gluten, -ous

Explanation

When you step in a glutinous substance, some of it will stick to your shoe and stretch as you step up. Glutinous means glue-like, or thick and sticky. The Latin word for glue was gluten, which is now the name of a substance found in wheat. Gluten is what makes pizza or bread dough stretchy and gooey, or glutinous. If you're baking a cake, you shouldn't mix it too much or it could become glutinous, or tough. When someone is on a gluten-free diet, it means they cannot eat wheat or other grains that contain gluten.

Example Sentences

I started making pancakes with thinner and thinner batter, and replaced all-purpose flour with glutinous rice flour.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

Celebratory traditions include making dim sum, such as red bean dumplings, steamed rice cakes and glutinous rice cake.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2024

It's slightly chewier too, made from more glutinous bread flour.

From Salon • May 17, 2023

This recipe calls for a coarse glutinous rice flour that looks like pearl sugar.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 25, 2023

But he whooped also, croaking hoarsely, glutinous, joyful sounds, riding that bright yellow Ladd Devine backhoe westward, ever westward— Toward the gorge.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols