I. ˈstikē, -ki adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: stick (I) + -y
1. : resembling a stick : woody
2. of a person : somewhat wooden : lacking animation
II. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: stick (V) + -y
1. : having the quality of adhering or of holding or retarding by or as if by adhesion : adhesive
stepped in something sticky
road was very sticky after the rain
quaking and sticky area … has been a deathtrap for unwary animals — American Guide Series: California
as
a.
(1) of a substance : gluey , glutinous , viscid , viscous
sticky syrup
paint was still sticky
wad of sticky chewing gum
black sticky mud
(2) : smeared or coated with a sticky substance
table was sticky
wall had been painted and was still sticky
sticky cinnamon buns
how she ever got her face so sticky
b. of a turf wicket in cricket : having a surface that is temporarily tacky or viscid from drying in the sun after being soaked with rain and that heavily favors spin bowlers
c. of snow : just beginning to melt
2. : humid , muggy
a sticky day
a hot and sticky hour or two on shore — W.H.Ingrams
: moist with perspiration with the clothing sticking to the body : clammy , messy
3. : offering or tending to offer resistance: as
a. of a horse : apt to hesitate at a fence or to jump from a standstill or a trot
b. : apt to impede or be impeded in movement or progress (as by wedging or blocking)
sticky windows
sticky valves
found that control movement … was not sticky , like many, but free and smooth — Skyways
c.
(1) : resistant to change : not moving : rigid
sticky prices
consumer habits are probably more sticky than variations in the level of income are — H.W.Grayson
labor supply is sticky , perverse, and often unpredictable — L.R.Tripp
(2) : hard to sell
reported that television sets had become sticky
: difficult to secure payment on when due
sticky accounts receivable
sticky bank loans
d.
(1) : inclined to make difficulties : hard to please : balky , fussy , meticulous , particular
tickets are available if you are not sticky about a special day — Saturday Review
ought to be satisfactory to the stickiest State Department jurist — V.M.Fry
(2) : difficult , troublesome
a sticky question
sticky problems
found the going sticky
the stickiest part of the whole operation — New Yorker
4.
a. : disagreeable , painful , unpleasant
a rather sticky past she wanted to hide — J.B.Priestley
seemed likely to come to a sticky end
b. : awkward , stiff , uncomfortable
after a rather sticky beginning became firm friends
scarcely knew each other, and the talk was decidedly sticky — E.M.Forster
when royalty is in the audience, things are generally very sticky — New Yorker
5. : suggestive of a viscid substance or mass (as in lacking strength, solidity, or substance) ; especially : characterized by sentimentality : saccharine , slushy
a sticky adagio — Wilder Hobson
a long sticky death scene — Time
a score as sticky as treacle — John McCarten
invest childhood with a sticky but romantic gloss — Osbert Sitwell
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
: to make sticky
children were stickied up with popcorn and lollipops and ice cream