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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Castillo’s short novel is a giddy character study of an unpleasant young male type.—
Jasmine Vojdani,
Vulture,
2 June 2025
-
To neutralize unpleasant smells, add a few pots of aromatic herbs, like rosemary and lavender.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2025
Adjective
-
Netflix released the trailer for the reality TV show on YouTube on Wednesday, which starts with a voice-over of a cheerleader talking about how the DCC will always be in each other’s lives before explaining the harsh reality of trying out to be a Cowboys cheerleader with all the talent.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 June 2025
-
Of the treaty’s three American signers—John Adams, John Jay and Benjamin Franklin—Franklin was said to have taken the harshest line against the loyalists.—
Greg Daugherty,
Smithsonian Magazine,
4 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
-
That cartilage injury was worse than expected, and Jiménez could miss all or most of this season rehabbing.—
David O'Brien,
New York Times,
5 June 2025
-
Athletics manager Mark Kotsay has continued to search for answers to cure what ails the Athletics during their historically bad run of losing in West Sacramento.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
4 June 2025
Adjective
-
Well, as referenced above, the United States was coming out of a nasty recession tied to the crisis in the mortgage market.—
Ken Roberts,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
-
Depending on a team to string together hits — or even contact — to score multiple runs in an inning against pitchers with nasty stuff is a hard way to win.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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Tech wealth here looks even less appealing than that of the Roy family (the expensively beige décor is even uglier).—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
4 June 2025
-
During the negotiation of USMCA in 2018, the current trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada that Trump managed during his first term, conversations between the President and GM occasionally turned ugly.—
Jackie Charniga,
USA Today,
3 June 2025
Adjective
-
Throughout its 120 year history the Clover Club—a gin sour, tarted up with fresh raspberries and smoothed out with an egg white—has been celebrated, then dismissed, then forgotten, and now, finally, is back on top.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
31 May 2025
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Had Southwest lost, the Eagles, no doubt with sour dispositions, would have loaded back in the vans, trekked home, then turned around to make the same trip again on Thursday to play an elimination game against Canyon Hills.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 May 2025
Adjective
-
Conrad wraps the conversation by being incredibly disgusting about Bella’s nether regions.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
1 June 2025
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For the next 200 years, snails only appeared in Parisian cookbooks alongside an apology for including such a disgusting ingredient.—
Garritt C. Van Dyk,
Smithsonian Magazine,
29 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Icky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/icky. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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