stickiness

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noun

The property of sticking or adhering; adhesion.

“The stickiness of a cellphone might be measured by its ability to tell correct time, locate its user, and allow its user to remain connected regardless of location.”

UncommonScrabble 16

Meanings

nounstickiness (usually uncountable, plural stickinesses)

plural stickinesses

  1. uncountableusuallyThe property of sticking or adhering; adhesion.
    1 more example

    […] The flesh [of the mistletoe berry] is sticky, and forms strings and ribbons between my thumb and forefinger. For the mistletoe, this viscous goop – and by the way, viscous comes to English from viscum – is crucial. The stickiness means that, after eating the berries, birds often regurgitate the seeds and then wipe their bills on twigs – leading to the seeds' getting glued to the tree, where they can germinate and begin the cycle anew.

    2014 December 23, Olivia Judson, “The hemiparasite season [print version: Under the hemiparasite, International New York Times, 24–25 December 2014, page 7]”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 23 Dec 2014
  2. uncountableusuallyWarmth and humidity, as on a muggy day.
  3. uncountableusuallyeconomicsOf prices or wages: the tendency to stay the same despite changes in the economy.
  4. uncountableusuallyinterface designbusinessThe presence of unique attributes that make a product indisposable and valuable to its owner.

    The stickiness of a cellphone might be measured by its ability to tell correct time, locate its user, and allow its user to remain connected regardless of location.

  5. uncountableusuallyadvertisingA research measure that captures the extent to which viewers wish to spend more time looking at or reading a print advertisement.

    The low stickiness rating helped explain why our ad’s brand linkage rating was so low: people were turned off by the blurriness of the main photo.

  6. uncountableusuallyhuman sciencesAn overemotional attachment to others; clinging in interpersonal relations; difficulty with ending conversations.

Origin

Translations

Esperanto glueco
  • gluecoproperty of sticking or adhering
Finnish tahmeus
  • tahmeusproperty of sticking or adhering
French adhérence
  • adhérenceproperty of sticking or adhering
Irish greamaitheacht
  • greamaitheachtproperty of sticking or adhering
Italian vischiosità, collosità
  • vischiositàproperty of sticking or adhering
  • collositàproperty of sticking or adhering
  • aderenzaproperty of sticking or adhering
Japanese 粘粘
  • 粘粘property of sticking or adhering
Polish lepkość, kleistość
  • lepkośćproperty of sticking or adhering
  • kleistośćproperty of sticking or adhering
  • czepliwośćproperty of sticking or adhering
  • przylepnośćproperty of sticking or adhering
Spanish viscosidad, adherencia
  • viscosidadproperty of sticking or adhering
  • adherenciaproperty of sticking or adhering
Cite this entry
APA

stickiness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stickiness

MLA

“stickiness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stickiness. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stickiness,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stickiness.

Source: stickiness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.