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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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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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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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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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

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 Otherwise, Kail sticks closely to the template established for him, recreating every scene and sequence from the first movie with ruthless fidelity and adding essentially no departures of any significance. — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 8 July 2026 The late Bill Carr, a former Florida athletic director who was Houston’s AD when the SWC breakup began, once summed this up to me in a way that still sticks. — Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 1 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 Director David Anspaugh, whose resume includes small-town basketball tale Hoosiers and against-all-odds college football biopic Rudy, sticks rigidly to his sporting underdog formula, only skimming the surface of the David-versus-Goliath encounter. — Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 26 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 When the nonstick coating wears out, food sticks more, and cleaning up gets harder. — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 26 June 2026 Your practical eye spots tiny gaps, while a kind tone keeps people open to change so the fix actually sticks today. — Pubsubhub User, Baltimore Sun, 4 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sticks

Verb

Roll each dough ball in powdered sugar, rolling between your palms so that sugar adheres.

— Erin Merhar, Southern Living, 17 July 2026
This helps ensure the new grout adheres properly.

— Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 10 June 2026

Definition of adheres

Verb

My analysis, built on the County’s framework and precedent, puts the exposure at a considerably higher level.

— Joseph M. Singer, HollywoodReporter, 25 Aug. 2026
This is a callous continuation of the ongoing campaign by the same individuals and groups targeting Jewish people and the state of Israel, a pattern of antisemitism and misinformation that puts our community in grave danger.

— K.J. Yossman, Variety, 25 Aug. 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

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
Any empty feeling at Empty Sky Caution tape clings to a fence outside the memorial, which honors the 749 New Jersey residents killed on 9/11.

— Adi Guajardo, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of clings

Verb

Without diminishing that aspect of music, Musical Bodies rightly situates as much meaning in the objects themselves.

— Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Garvey said the journal, which published quarterly from 1993 to 2005, was premised on the idea of abolishing whiteness as a social category that situates white people above other racial groups.

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 30 July 2026

Definition of situates

Verb

Check back Thursday for complete College Football Playoff and national championship picks from The Athletic’s college football staff.

— Austin Mock, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Especially with Watson, CB’s pal, getting traded to the Cavs as part of a five-team swap that landed the Nuggets draft picks in ’31 and ’32.

— Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of picks

Verb

As engine speed rises, centrifugal force squeezes the drive clutch closed and pushes the belt farther outward.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Aug. 2026
Whereas the Scranton method mainly involves molding ultrahot steel in giant forging presses, Repkon added a step in which a fast-spinning machine squeezes and rolls out the metal like clay on a potter’s wheel.

— Jesse Coburn, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2026