icky

IPA/ˈɪki/
IPA/ˈɪki/

icky — adjective

  • ickypositive
  • ickiercomparative
  • ickiestsuperlative

1. If something is icky, it feels or looks unpleasant, often because it is sticky,

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

If something is icky, it feels or looks unpleasant, often because it is sticky, wet, dirty, or slimy, and you do not want to touch it.

Example

Theo refused to eat the icky green slime that had formed on the old yogurt.

[[24, 28]]

Nora wiped the icky mud off her hands after playing in the garden.

[[15, 19]]

Common collocations
  • icky + sticky
  • icky + slimy
  • icky + wet
  • feel icky
  • look icky
  • taste icky
  • icky mess
  • icky stuff
Synonyms
  • yucky

    More childlike and common in spoken English; equally informal.

  • gross

    Stronger and more direct; common in American informal speech.

  • disgusting

    More formal and general; can describe things that offend any sense.

Antonyms
  • pleasant

    Describes something agreeable to the senses.

  • nice

    General positive opposite; common in everyday speech.

Grammar Patterns

be + icky

look/feel/taste + icky

icky + noun

Usage Note

Often used by children or in casual speech. Common with verbs of sensation like feel, look, taste, and smell.

Common Mistakes

The bathroom floor was icky, so I cleaned it.
The bathroom floor felt icky, so I scrubbed it with bleach.
icky usually describes how something feels to the senses, not just a fact about its state.
I feel icky about lying to my friend.
I feel guilty about lying to my friend.
For moral or emotional discomfort, use guilty or bad, not icky. Icky is for physical disgust.

Word family

  • ick
    interjectionB1
  • ickiness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe something unpleasant to the senses, but they differ in register and focus. Icky is a mild, informal word often used by children or in casual conversation; it emphasizes a sticky, wet, or slimy texture. Yucky is even more childish and playful. Gross is stronger and very common in American casual speech, often expressing a sudden feeling of disgust. Disgusting is the most general and can be used in both formal and informal contexts, covering anything from bad smells to immoral behaviour. For example, a child might say 'The sandwich is icky,' while an adult might say 'The smell from the bin was disgusting.'

icky ↗yucky ↗gross ↗disgusting ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Verbs

Adverbs

Phrases

  • ick factor

Adjectives

Etymology

child languageEnglish

Icky comes from child language — possibly from the exclamation 'ick!' (a sound of disgust) plus the adjective suffix '-y'. It has been used since the early 1900s in American English and is related to 'yucky'.