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stickiness

 - 4 dictionary results

stick⋅y

  [stik-ee] adjective, stick⋅i⋅er, stick⋅i⋅est, noun, plural stick⋅ies.
Use stickiness in a Sentence
–adjective
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.
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
6. 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.
Origin:
1720–30; 1910–15 for def. 4; stick 2 + -y 1

Related forms:
stick⋅i⋅ly, adverb
stick⋅i⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
3. muggy, sultry, damp, steamy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To stickiness
stick·y   (stĭk'ē)   
adj.   stick·i·er, stick·i·est

  1. Having the property of adhering or sticking to a surface; adhesive.

  2. Covered with an adhesive agent.

  3. Warm and humid; muggy: a sticky day.

  4. Informal Painful or difficult: a sticky situation.

  5. Economics Tending to remain the same despite changes in the economy. Used of prices or wages.

stick'i·ly adv., stick'i·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
sticky

  1. mod.
    gooey. (Standard English.) : What is this sticky stuff on my shoe? Oh, no!
  2. mod.
    chancy; awkward. : Things began to get a little sticky, and Marlowe began to move toward the door.
  3. mod.
    sentimental. : Things were getting a little sticky the more Harriet drank. She tried to kiss me, and I left.
  4. mod.
    having to do with hot and humid weather. : I can't take another sticky day like this.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

sticky  (adj.)
1727, "adhesive," from stick (v.). An O.E. word for this was clibbor.First recorded 1864 in the sense of "sentimental;" 1915 with the meaning "difficult." Of weather, "hot and humid," from 1895. Sticky wicket is 1952, from British slang, in reference to cricket.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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