sticky

[stik-ee]

adjective

stickier, stickiest 

1. having the property of adhering, as glue; adhesive.

2. covered with adhesive or viscid matter.

   sticky hands.

3. (of the weather or climate) hot and humid.

   It was an unbearably sticky day.

   Synonyms: steamy, damp, sultry, muggy

4. requiring careful treatment; awkwardly difficult.

   a rather sticky diplomatic problem; Breaking the news is going to be sticky.

5. Informal.,  unpleasant; unfortunate; nasty.

   The villain of the story meets a sticky end.

noun

plural

stickies 

1. one of a number of small sheets of paper on a pad, each having an adhesive backing that allows it to be positioned and repositioned on smooth surfaces.

sticky

/ ˈstɪkɪ /

adjective

1. covered or daubed with an adhesive or viscous substance

   sticky fingers

2. having the property of sticking to a surface

3. (of weather or atmosphere) warm and humid; muggy

4. (of prices) tending not to fall in deflationary conditions

5. informal,  difficult, awkward, or painful

   a sticky business

6. informal,  sentimental

7. (of a website) encouraging users to visit repeatedly

verb

1. informal,  (tr) to make sticky

noun

1. short for stickybeak

2. an inquisitive look or stare (esp in the phrase have a sticky at )

Other Word Forms

• stickily adverb
• stickiness noun
• nonsticky adjective
• unsticky adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sticky¹

1720–30; 1910–15 sticky for def. 4; stick ² + -y ¹

Example Sentences

The sauce seeped into the bread, leaving fingers gloriously sticky.

From Salon

And though he’s undeniably quixotic, PTA’s relentless urgency consistently overrides the sticky trappings of saccharine sentimentality that would snare less ambitious filmmakers.

From Salon

The signature challenge asked bakers to make a batch of monkey bread, a sticky pull-apart bread made from balls of dough layered and baked in a Bundt pan.

From Salon

“A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” is sticky sweet and sludgy and so cloyingly aesthetic that the roadkill bleeds ropes of twee entrails.

From Los Angeles Times

I soon follow suit and, with sticky fingers, reach for all the candies that have caught my eye: super lemon sour suckers, pink lemonade gushers, muscat gummies and soda-flavored hard candies.

From Salon

Related Words

• awkward 
• delicate 
• heavy 
• knotty 
• rough 
• thorny 
• tricky