Meanings
sticky1
comparative stickier · superlative stickiest
- Tending to stick; able to adhere via the drying of a viscous substance.
Is this tape sticky enough to stay on that surface?
1 more example
Particularly sticky books are cleaned with methylated spirits.
2016 June 5, Thomas Manch, “CuriousCity: What happens to my library books when I return them?”, in Stuff, archived from the original on 04 May 2019Synonyms: claggy
- Difficult, awkward.
This is a sticky situation. We could be in this for weeks if we're not careful.
2 more examples
GCN is not just another clipboard of polite press releases. GCN is the sticky questions, the sweet moments, and the dirty stories that make up our lives.
1989 December 24, Abe Rybeck, “Liberation Without Permission, Pleasure Without Apology”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 24, page 5Among the books Mum brought me to read when I was a child were The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, as well as their author Frances Hodgson Burnett's smash hit, Little Lord Fauntleroy. I haven't met an adult my age who has read this book but I did so several times. It's a sticky book, guided by that strange Victorian obsession with "the little mother" – the same obsession that Virginia Woolf, a child of Victorian parents, grappled with in her diaries and her fiction. Somehow, though, I learned to overlook the archaic, to be open to the oddnesses of different eras, and to read for something else.
2020 June 25, Tegan Bennett Daylight, “My mother taught me the joy of reading. I remember her through books”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 May 2023 - Of a death: unpleasant, grisly.
Salmond studied medieval Scottish history as well as economics at university so he cannot say he has not had fair warning – it was even more turbulent and bloody than England at that time – and plenty of Scotland's kings and leaders came to a sticky end. If it happens this time, it won't be dull.
2014 September 8, Michael White, “Roll up, roll up! The Amazing Salmond will show a Scotland you won't believe”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Oct 2022 - Mawkish, sentimental.
Love you and miss you and wish you all the sticky things one wishes at this season for someone one loves.
1981 December 27, “Robert Bobbie Bob, Inc (personal advertisement)”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 23, page 18 - businessTending to stay the same; resistant to change.
a sticky price; sticky wages
- informalcomputingPersistent.
We should make the printing direction sticky so the user doesn't have to keep setting it.
- computingAppearing on all virtual desktops.
- InternetFixed at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to keep it in view.
- InternetCompelling enough to keep visitors from leaving.
A woman has come to me with the complaint that her website is not sticky: 70% of the visits last 30 seconds or less.
plural stickies
- InternetcountableuncountableA discussion thread fixed at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to keep it in view.
- countableuncountablebusinessA small adhesive particle found in wastepaper.
- AustraliacolloquialcountableuncountableA sweet dessert wine.
- countableslanguncountableSticky-icky; marijuana, especially the sticky, resin-covered buds.
As drunk as I was, all I could think about was getting some sticky down my lungs.
2014, Jagada Chambers, Based on a True Story2 more examples
We'd smoked some nice sticky that night and fucked with some Erk and Jerk too, so my head was still cloudy when Pimp came in the room and said get up.
2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 268Still smoking sticky, it ain't no other option / Not for made niggas, and I'm never stopping
2011 April 12, “Made Men”performed by Rick Ross - obsoleteslanguncountableWax.
present singular third person stickies · participle present stickying · participle past stickied · past stickied
- Internettransitivebulletin boardsTo fix (a discussion thread) at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to keep it in view.
Antonyms: unsticky
Sticky2
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveTending to stick; able to adhere via the drying of a viscous substance.
adjectiveOf weather: hot and windless and with high humidity, so that people feel sticky from sweating.
verbTo fix (a discussion thread) at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to keep it in view.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivehaving the sticky properties of an adhesive
adjectivemoist as with undried perspiration and with clothing sticking to the body
adjectivehard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment
adjectivecovered with an adhesive material
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
sticky · adjective, noun, verb
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)teyg-
- Proto-Indo-European*stignéh₂-
- Proto-Germanic*stikkōną
- Proto-West Germanic*stikkōn
- Old Englishstician
- Middle Englishstiken
- Englishstick
- Englishsticky
Sticky · noun
So called because they sold adhesive lilies to commemorate the Easter Rising.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek γλίσχρος
- γλίσχρος (glískhros)able or likely to stick
Bulgarian леплив
- леплив (lepliv)able or likely to stick
Catalan enganxós, apegalós
- enganxósable or likely to stick
- apegalósable or likely to stick
Chinese Mandarin 黏
- 黏 (nián)able or likely to stick
Dutch kleverig, plakkerig
- kleverigable or likely to stick
- plakkerigable or likely to stick
- lastigpotentially difficult to escape from
- hachelijkpotentially difficult to escape from
Esperanto adhera, glueca
- adheraable or likely to stick
- gluecaable or likely to stick
- malfacilapotentially difficult to escape from
- embarasapotentially difficult to escape from
- ĝenapotentially difficult to escape from
Estonian kleepuv
- kleepuvable or likely to stick
Finnish tarttuva, tahmea
- tarttuvaable or likely to stick
- tahmeaable or likely to stick
- koukuttavaof weather
French collant, gluant
- collantable or likely to stick
- gluantable or likely to stick
- poisseuxable or likely to stick
- collantpotentially difficult to escape from
- délicatpotentially difficult to escape from
German stickig, klebrig
- stickigable or likely to stick
- klebrigable or likely to stick
- heikelpotentially difficult to escape from
Greek κολλώδης
- κολλώδης (kollódis)able or likely to stick
Hungarian ragadós, ragacsos
- ragadósable or likely to stick
- ragacsosable or likely to stick
- tapadósable or likely to stick
- öntapadóable or likely to stick
- kényespotentially difficult to escape from
- kínospotentially difficult to escape from
- bajospotentially difficult to escape from
- fülledtof weather
- izzasztóof weather
- öntapadós cédulasticky note, such as a Post-It
Icelandic klístraður
- klístraðurable or likely to stick
Indonesian lengket
- lengketable or likely to stick
Irish greamaitheach
- greamaitheachable or likely to stick
Italian vischioso
- vischiosoable or likely to stick
Japanese 粘着性のある, 粘り気のある
- 粘着性のある (nenchakusei no aru)able or likely to stick
- 粘り気のある (nebarike no aru)able or likely to stick
- ベタベタする (betabeta suru)able or likely to stick
- 厄介な (yakkai na)potentially difficult to escape from
- 難しい (muzukashii)potentially difficult to escape from
- 不愉快な (fuyukai na)potentially difficult to escape from
Latin viscidus
- viscidusable or likely to stick
Latvian lipīgs
- lipīgsable or likely to stick
Māori ngingita, kūpiapia
- ngingitaable or likely to stick
- kūpiapiaable or likely to stick
Norwegian klissete
- klisseteable or likely to stick
Polish lepki
- lepkiable or likely to stick
Portuguese grudento, pegajoso
- grudentoable or likely to stick
- pegajosoable or likely to stick
- fixarto fix a thread at the top of the list
Romanian lipicios
- lipiciosable or likely to stick
Russian ли́пкий, кле́йкий
- ли́пкий (lípkij)able or likely to stick
- кле́йкий (kléjkij)able or likely to stick
Scottish Gaelic leanailteach
- leanailteachable or likely to stick
Spanish pegajoso, pegadizo
- pegajosoable or likely to stick
- pegadizoable or likely to stick
- pegachentoable or likely to stick
- escabrosopotentially difficult to escape from
- bochornosoof weather
- pegajosothat keeps visitors from leaving it
- recado adheriblesticky note, such as a Post-It
Swedish klibbig, kladdig
- klibbigable or likely to stick
- kladdigable or likely to stick
- kletigable or likely to stick
- klibbigtof weather
Thai เหนียว
- เหนียว (nǐao)able or likely to stick
Turkish yapışkan
- yapışkanable or likely to stick
Ukrainian липкий, липучий
- липкий (lypkyj)able or likely to stick
- липучий (lypučyj)able or likely to stick
Vietnamese dính
- dínhable or likely to stick
Yiddish קלעפּיק, קלעפּעדיק
- קלעפּיק (klepik)able or likely to stick
- קלעפּעדיק (klepedik)able or likely to stick
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with sticky
Cite this entry
sticky. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sticky
“sticky.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sticky. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sticky,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sticky.
Source: sticky on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.