STICKS Synonyms: 189 Similar and Opposite Words

sticks 1 of 2

plural noun

ˈstik

as in countryside

the open rural area outside of big towns and cities grew up in the sticks and is used to traveling miles just to get a loaf of bread

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

sticks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of stick

as in adheres

to hold to something firmly as if by adhesion those magnets are strong enough to stick to the refrigerator without any problems

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in puts

to arrange something in a certain spot or position you can stick that box in the corner until I figure out where to put everything

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stabs

to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object could hardly feel the needle when the nurse stuck my arm with it

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as in plucks

to rob by the use of trickery or threats she got stuck by an unscrupulous seller while using the online auction site

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of sticks

Verb

Joy walks by to get into the walk-in fridge and sticks her tongue out at Gen’s back. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026 In any case, the epilogue sticks the landing and allows audiences to leave the theater feeling riled up rather than hopeless. — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026 The graphic below illustrates that Circati is not a centre-back who sticks a foot in too often, preferring to sit off and protect the space. — Thom Harris, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026 Open for breakfast and lunch, the eatery sticks largely to the classics—think omelets, pancakes, eggs Benedict, and plenty of biscuits, best enjoyed smothered in gravy, of course. — Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2026 Suppose a teenager visiting a zoo breaks into a lion’s cage and sticks his head into the beast’s mouth. — Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 24 Aug. 2026 The standout episode—the conversion history of Kendra, a Black striver married to the Schwoopers’ daughter, Shira—sticks its landing, enabling the viewer to see faith as a refuge, not a cage. — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 July 2026 No sooner does Aemond arrive than the silver-white-haired warrior sticks his blade into the smooth-talking Harrenhal caretaker, Ser Simon Strong, played by British thespian Simon Russell Beale. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 29 June 2026 The catch is knowing which systems hold up, which ones look most like a real manicure and how to prep your natural nails so the glue actually sticks. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 26 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sticks

Verb

Kiko Milano Eyeshadow Stick’s formula fortunately adheres perfectly to the lids.

— Laura Sandroni, Vogue, 31 Aug. 2026
Roll each dough ball in powdered sugar, rolling between your palms so that sugar adheres.

— Erin Merhar, Southern Living, 17 July 2026

Definition of adheres

Verb

Having receiver Cam Coleman opposite Ryan Wingo puts opposing secondaries between a rock and a hard place, because double-teaming one can result in the other going off.

— The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
That puts the network front and center, and it must be engineered as a first-class part of the architecture, rather than ordered last.

— Ido Susan, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of puts

Verb

But before Bane can finish him off, Batman stabs a Batarang into a little knob on Bane’s wrist gauntlet, the one that controls his intake of Venom.

— Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
When Little Death stabs into their victim, there’s a geyser of blood, way more than could fit inside a human body.

— Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of stabs

Verb

His torso and thighs grow eye-poppingly muscular beneath their skimpy fur-and-leather togs—a development that does not go unnoticed by a warrior named Red Hair, who plucks the young hunk from his post and tosses him into the prime time of the gladiator pit.

— Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
But the emotional gravity of this offering's deeply personal, melancholic lyrical content plucks an undeniably profound chord that uniquely separates it from the rest of his work.

— Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026

Definition of plucks

Verb

Nobody clings to each other more firmly, defends their relationship more fiercely, or dismisses the opinions of the internet more authentically than Brinity.

— Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 1 Sep. 2026
All the while, oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have virtually halted as Tehran clings to its leverage by threatening to strike any unauthorized oil tankers that attempt to transit the narrow waterway.

— Reuters, NBC news, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of clings

Verb

The murkiness of it all clarifies by the end of the film, not just in terms of its heroes, villains and message, but Greengrass also situates this story within a recognizable cinematic and storytelling history.

— Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
This situates it alongside the North Atlantic ocean that's populated with a variety of different kinds of whales.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of situates

Verb

The eight top picks below span single hooks, double hooks, multi-hook racks, and one shelf-and-hook combination.

— Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 11 Sep. 2026
There finally seems to be a plan for the offensive line build, with the Giants investing Day 3 picks in players who aren’t rushed into the lineup.

— Dan Duggan, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of picks

Verb

People’s financial margin for error is generally pretty small, and just the rising cost of most everything just squeezes them more and more.

— Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Avoiding outlier squeezes requires implementing strict criteria before entering trades.

— David Capablanca, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026