adjective
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sticky
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excessively sentimental or emotional
Other Word Forms
- ickiness noun
Etymology
Origin of icky
An Americanism dating back to 1930–35; of uncertain origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But over-the-top comments such as "Japanese people are next level" give her an "icky vibe", Kubota told AFP.
From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026
“I was in a period of mourning and I didn’t want to give myself worldly pleasures because I thought it would make me feel icky or sad.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
But for now, plenty of market signals suggest that it’s OK for investors to live in a home where there are cockroaches in the walls — as icky as it feels.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 6, 2025
In a more relatable sense, as Jessica Hobbs’ Emmy-winning direction shows, it’s also about that icky, awkward, self-conscious feeling people get when they’re forced to be in a room where they know they’re not wanted.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2024
I give him a few more treats without pills in them, and then he yawns in my face and I wave away his icky tuna breath.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
