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.
“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
A female police officer who volunteered to run in plain clothes to catch catcallers has said their behaviour "makes me feel really sort of icky".
From BBC
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.
