different between sticky vs moist

English

Etymology

From stick +? -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?st?ki/
• Rhymes: -?ki

Adjective

sticky (comparative stickier, superlative stickiest)

1. Able or likely to adhere via the drying of a viscous substance.

2. Potentially difficult to escape from.
   • 2014, Michael White, "Roll up, roll up! The Amazing Salmond will show a Scotland you won't believe", The Guardian, 8 September 2014:

     Salmond studied medieval Scottish history as well as economics at university so he cannot say he has not had fair warning – it was even more turbulent and bloody than England at that time – and plenty of Scotland's kings and leaders came to a sticky end.

3. Of weather, hot and windless and with high humidity, so that people feel sticky from sweating.
   • 2008, Robert K. Fitts, Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball

     The baby was due in December and the hot, sticky August weather was making Jane uncomfortable.

4. (finance) Tending to stay the same; resistant to change.

5. (computing, informal, of a setting) Persistent.

6. (computing, of a window) Appearing on all virtual desktops.
7. (Internet, of threads on a bulletin board) Fixed at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to keep it in view.
8. (Internet, of a website) Compelling enough to keep visitors from leaving.

9. Similar to a stick

Synonyms

• (able or likely to adhere): claggy, tenacious; see also Thesaurus:adhesive
• (hot, windless and humid): close, muggy, sultry; see also Thesaurus:muggy

Derived terms

• stickily
• stickiness
• sticky-backed plastic
• sticky bit
• sticky fingers
• sticky note
• sticky tape
• sticky wicket

Translations

See also

• tacky

Noun

sticky (plural stickies)

1. A sticky note, such as a post-it note.

   Her desk is covered with yellow stickies.

2. (Internet) A discussion thread fixed at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to keep it in view.
3. (manufacturing) A small adhesive particle found in wastepaper.
4. (Australia, colloquial) A sweet dessert wine.

Translations

Verb

sticky (third-person singular simple present stickies, present participle stickying, simple past and past participle stickied)

1. (Internet, bulletin boards, transitive) to fix a thread at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to keep it in view.

Translations

English

Etymology

From Middle English moiste (“moist, wet", also "fresh”), from Anglo-Norman moiste and Middle French moiste (“damp, mouldy, wet”), of obscure origin and formation. Perhaps from a late variant of Latin m?cidus (“slimy, musty”) combined with a reflex of Latin mustum (“must”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /m??st/
• Rhymes: -??st

Adjective

moist (comparative moister or more moist, superlative moistest or most moist)

1. Slightly wet; characterised by the presence of moisture, not dry; damp. [from 14th c.]
   • 1937, "Modernist Miracle", Time, 1 Nov 1937:

     Joseph Smith, a diffident, conscientious young man with moist hands and an awkward, absent-minded manner, was head gardener at Wotton Vanborough.

   • 2011, Dominic Streatfeild, The Guardian, 7 Jan 2011:

     "The other car didn't explode," continues Shujaa. "The explosives were a bit moist. They had been stored in a place that was too humid."

2. Of eyes: tearful, wet with tears. [from 14th c.]
   • 1974, "Mitchell and Stans: Not Guilty", Time, 6 Dec 1974:

     Eyes moist, he hugged one of his attorneys and later said: "I feel like I've been reborn."

3. Of weather, climate etc.: rainy, damp. [from 14th c.]
   • 2008, Graham Harvey, The Guardian, 8 Sep 2008:

     With its mild, moist climate, Britain is uniquely placed to grow good grass.

4. (sciences, historical) Pertaining to one of the four essential qualities formerly believed to be present in all things, characterised by wetness. [from 14th c.]
   • :

     Pituita, or phlegm, is a cold and moist humour, begotten of the colder parts of the chylus […]

5. (obsolete) Watery, liquid, fluid. [14th-17th c.]
   • 1658, Sir Thomas Browne, Hydriotaphia:

     Some being of the opinion of Thales, that water was the originall of all things, thought it most equall to submit unto the principle of putrefaction, and conclude in a moist relentment.

6. (medicine) Characterised by the presence of pus, mucus etc. [from 14th c.]
7. (colloquial) Sexually lubricated (of the vagina); sexually aroused, turned on (of a woman). [from 20th c.]
   • 2008, Marcia King-Gamble, Meet Phoenix, p. 168:

     He slid a finger in me, checking to make sure I was moist and ready for him.

Usage notes

Moist is mostly used for agreeable conditions while damp is mainly used for disagreeable conditions:

• moist cake
• damp clothes

Synonyms

• (slightly wet): damp, thone/thoan (dialect); see also Thesaurus:wet
• (tearful): dewy-eyed, misty, weepy, wet
• (rainy, damp): dank or see Thesaurus:muggy
• (watery, liquid, fluid): liquidlike; see also Thesaurus:fluidic

Related terms

• moisten
• moist media
• moisture

Translations

Verb

moist (third-person singular simple present moists, present participle moisting, simple past and past participle moisted)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To moisten.

References

Anagrams

• omits

Livonian

Alternative forms

• (Courland) m?istõ

Etymology

Related to Estonian mõistma (“understand”) and Finnish muistaa (“remember”).

Verb

moist

1. understand

Middle English

Adjective

moist

1. Alternative form of moiste