icky
/'iki/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Unpleasantly sticky or gooey: Describing something that has a soft, wet, and adhesive texture that is disagreeable to touch.
- Disgusting, unpleasant, or offensive: Used to express strong dislike or distaste for something, often due to it being considered gross, sentimental in a bad way, or morally objectionable.
Usage and Examples
Adjective (Physical Texture):
- I hate getting icky syrup all over my hands.
- The child refused to touch the icky mud.
Adjective (General Disgust/Dislike):
- That horror movie was really icky.
- He told an icky joke that made everyone uncomfortable.
- She finds public displays of affection to be icky.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- "icky" is informal and often used in casual speech, particularly by children or to express a childish level of disgust.
- It can describe both physical sensations (touch, taste) and abstract concepts (situations, behavior, sentiments).
- The word carries a connotation of something being not just bad, but viscerally repulsive or cloying.
Variants and Related Words
- Ick (n., informal): A feeling of disgust; something disgusting.
- The slime left an ick on my fingers.
- Ickiness (n., informal): The quality of being icky.
- The ickiness of the situation was overwhelming.
Synonyms
- Sticky: Adhesive, gluey (for the physical texture meaning).
- Gross: Disgusting, revolting.
- Nasty: Unpleasant, disagreeable.
- Sickly: Overly sentimental in a nauseating way.
- Repulsive: Arousing intense distaste.
Antonyms
- Pleasant: Giving a sense of happy satisfaction.
- Clean: Free from dirt or stickiness.
- Appealing: Attractive or interesting.
Idioms and Common Phrases
- "Feel icky": To feel slightly unwell or nauseated, often without a specific medical cause.
- I ate too much candy and now I feel icky.
- "Icky-sticky": A childish reduplication emphasizing the sticky, unpleasant quality.
- The toddler cried, "My hands are all icky-sticky!"
Adjective
- soft and sticky
- very bad
- a lousy play
- it's a stinking world