stickilyadv.
/ˈstɪkᵻli/, U.S. /ˈstɪkəli/ 1. In a sticky manner; so as to stick or adhere.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > attachment > [adverb] > adhesively
cleavingly1340
holdinglyc1375
adherently1772
adhesively1789
stickily1846
glueily1925
1846 Yankee Doodle 28 Nov. 95/1 Broadway looks as if a real Tar River had been let into it at Union Park, and was rolling stickily toward the Bowling Green.
1861 All Year Round 9 Mar. 518/1 Something hot and wet, that clung stickily to her fingers.
1919 P. G. Wodehouse Their Mutual Child ii. ix. 222 A drop of perspiration rolled down his cheek-bone and anchored itself stickily on the angle of his jaw.
1989 G. Vanderhaeghe Homesick xiv. 201 The sleigh jerked stickily under its load.
1998 N. Lawson How to Eat (1999) 175 When hissing away in a glorious pale caramelly pool, add the rice and stir to coat stickily.
2005 E. Barr Plan B (2006) xiv. 139 The evening was stickily hot.
2. In an awkward, difficult, or unpleasant manner; messily.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > [adverb]
evil1377
painfully1539
difficultly1542
difficillyc1545
evillya1616
stickily1909
1909 Punch 7 Apr. 250/3 The whole cast was beyond praise, and so was the management, except perhaps in the second scene. Here the embarrassment on the stage almost communicated itself to the house, so stickily was it presented.
1937 Times 12 July 5/1 The game started rather stickily.
1973 Times Lit. Suppl. 9 Mar. 257/2 The book manages, in fact, to make something stickily implausible out of several familiar conventions.
2007 D. Nettle Personality (2009) iii. 101 It seems to me that some extraverts in some contexts probably did very well, but that others were reckless and ended stickily.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.1846