adjective
-
sticky
-
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.
“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.”
“Now, the witch doesn’t take kindly to this perspective. Personally, I don’t blame her. It’s reductionist, it’s elitist, and it’s just plain icky. So the witch goes from zero to a hundred—and curses Benefo.”
From Literature
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
Fair or not, it’s a bit icky that Hansen is here framed as the sole force behind the program.
From Los Angeles Times
He stress-tests our icky, grubby pity for Matthew and, beyond that, the flimsiness of modern fame culture and its fake-it-till-you-make-it inspirational platitudes.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
