Viscidly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner characterized by stickiness or glue-like texture
2. Done with a surface or substance that is thick and adhesive
3. Performed with a quality that makes something cling or adhere easily

Etymology: "Viscidly" is simply "viscid" with the adverbial ending "-ly" added, so it means "in a viscid manner." The adjective "viscid" comes from the Latin "viscidus," meaning sticky or glutinous, which itself grows from "viscum," the word for birdlime, the sticky substance made from mistletoe berries that fowlers smeared on branches to trap birds. The Latin image of a bird caught on a twig is buried inside the word's sense of clinging. The "-ly" ending is one of English's most productive suffixes, turning adjectives into adverbs that describe how an action is done. Attached to "viscid," it describes motion or behavior that adheres or holds fast, as when something moves in a thick, clinging way.

Synonyms: sticky, gluey, gummy, adhesively, tenaciously

Antonyms: smoothly, slipperily, easily, fluidly, loosely