as in unpleasant
not giving pleasure to the mind or senses
the novel has an icky sentimentality that makes my skin crawl
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of icky
Photo: IMDb This deeply icky picaresque about a 13-year-old runaway (Chloë Grace Moretz) called in Lively for the Blake specialty: a self-loathing drug addict with a heart of gold with whom men are obsessed.
—
Lizzie Logan, Vulture, 2 May 2025
His icky organic take on the digital future, a Luddite open world of bone pistols and nippled controllers, vacuum-seals eXistenZ in a way some semblance of real technology never could.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
But the whole thing just feels icky to me.
—Erin Clack, People.com, 5 Mar. 2025
Just push through the icky feeling even one time, and see what happens.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for icky
Lizzie Logan, Vulture, 2 May 2025
His icky organic take on the digital future, a Luddite open world of bone pistols and nippled controllers, vacuum-seals eXistenZ in a way some semblance of real technology never could.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
But the whole thing just feels icky to me.
—Erin Clack, People.com, 5 Mar. 2025
Just push through the icky feeling even one time, and see what happens.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for icky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for icky
Adjective
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Diana, for example, when anything unpleasant was said in her presence, would slowly blink her eyes in an incredible act of denial.—
Rosemary Counter,
Time,
25 June 2025
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Some of these vitamins have quality issues, like a fishy or unpleasant taste.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
25 June 2025
Adjective
-
Unlike many traditional sunscreens that contain oxybenzone and octinoxate—two common culprits behind coral bleaching—reef-safe formulas skip the harsh stuff in favor of ocean-friendly alternatives that tend to also be gentler on sensitive skin.—
Iman Balagam,
Vogue,
16 June 2025
-
Some of them include washing with harsh shampoos, particularly those with sulfates or alcohol; overusing scalp scrubs or clarifying products; and not washing frequently enough.—
Jamie Wilson,
Glamour,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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Smears on non-sensor areas of the tiara are like bug debris on your hood, aesthetically unpleasing but not harmful.—
Eric Tegler,
Popular Mechanics,
1 Oct. 2019
-
His side's inability to finish off the game against Burnley on the other hand was very unpleasing.—
SI.com,
SI.com,
1 Feb. 2018
Adjective
-
Advertisement To put all that in context, recall that Black voters are the most reliable members of the Democratic coalition and the Black Church is the only reason these numbers aren’t even worse.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
16 June 2025
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Things are indeed so bad that another source told the outlet that the two might not see each other again until their father dies.—
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz,
StyleCaster,
16 June 2025
Adjective
-
Perhaps not helping so much: The set’s early reviews, which have been mostly fairly nasty in their dismissals of the set.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
25 June 2025
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Again there are two levels here, and each radically altered the color profile of the onscreen visuals – with the high setting giving everything a nasty green hue.—
Paul Ridden
June 25,
New Atlas,
25 June 2025
Adjective
-
My goodness, these men wanted to win the U.S. Open with every bit of their being, to finally win a major championship and make this ugly, rainy day worth the battles behind them.—
Brody Miller,
New York Times,
16 June 2025
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The beautiful game deserves better than to be played against a backdrop of ugly anti-human rights policies.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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This results in an offbeat menu incorporating everything from Indian pani puri to pork and king-crab soup dumplings to a sweet and sour tangcu take on ossobuco with cheesy grits.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
13 June 2025
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And now, the sweet and sour taste is entering a new frontier: Ramen.—
Jordan Valinsky,
CNN Money,
12 June 2025
Adjective
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All the juicy — and disgusting — details of each inspection can be found in a PDF embedded under each restaurant’s entry.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
15 June 2025
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War is disgusting, and that extraordinary chapter, which concluded what was undoubtedly the most terrible war in history, provides no exception ...—
Charles C. W. Cooke,
National Review,
12 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Icky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/icky. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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