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 icky But that’s the icky turmoil that comes with politics at the dinner table. Erik Piepenburg, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025 Life's unknowns are frustrating and tedious and just downright icky. Nick Suss, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024 However, for a cultural icon of Chappelle’s caliber, with his demonstrated capacity to advocate for marginalized groups, for someone like that to consistently reduce the trans community to icky, screechy scolds right as their very existence is being legislated away is a waste and a disgrace. Joe Berkowitz, Vulture, 19 Jan. 2025 There’s something too literal, too icky, too reminiscent of actual in-school gun violence about this whole part. Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for icky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for icky
Adjective
  • This is notable, given that post-Covid brick and mortar shopping has generally become so unpleasant, it’s given rise to the need for a personal shopper.
    Jennifer Leigh Parker, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Less a song than a gag, every individual element is unpleasant: single-entendre lyrics; vocals and synths that aren’t even in the same key; and the less said about Space Cowboy’s guest verse, the better.
    Kristen S. Hé, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Designed for hiking and other outdoor adventures, these water-resistant pants are made with UPF 50 protection from harsh sun rays along with several spacious, handy pockets.
    Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 22 Mar. 2025
  • Where once elephants were used in harsh working conditions, performing tricks or giving rides to tourists, many organizations today are pushing for more humane approaches to wildlife interaction.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • Meanwhile, the Heat has been among the NBA’s worst teams in the league since Butler’s departure.
    Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2025
  • The most common reason a cruise ship skips a port is bad weather.
    David Nikel, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Interestingly, the feeling of abandonment mirrors the animating force of the nastiest parts of the American manosphere: the belief that men got left behind.
    Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
  • Our four financial stocks are finished positive, including Capital One Financial despite a nasty pullback on Monday tied to a report that said the Justice Department may challenge its Discover acquisition.
    Jeff Marks, CNBC, 21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome had form on the bike that was frequently described as ugly.
    Liam Tharme, The Athletic, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Plus, with fewer games, an ugly two weeks in the NBA usually signals a five-alarm fire and overreactions.
    Shane Young, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Their somewhat symbiotic friendship turns sour when Genovese orders a hit on the former, turning the streets of New York into a duplicitous battleground for survival.
    Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 20 Mar. 2025
  • But things quickly went sour following the walk-off RBI from Prairie View A&M’s Trenton Bush.
    Scott Thompson, Fox News, 19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Using that platform to engage in partisan attacks and accuse former Department leadership of weaponizing law enforcement is a disgusting betrayal of those values.
    Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Continue reading … ‘PRO-CRIMINAL’ – Blue state sheriff unloads on 'disgusting' bill targeting the right to self-defense.
    Fox News, Fox News, 11 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Icky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/icky. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

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