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sick

sick

1.0
Not well because of illness
  • adjective
  • /sɪk/
translation icon : enfermo
  • Especially when you are sick and you have no money and you don't have a job.
  • get sick
  • sick leave
  • become sick

So Louis Pasteur was you get sick because of germs.

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Examples

  • I have been so sick for four days.

  • Some individuals become irritable when they are sick and may be hard to please.

    Academic text (2015)
  • When he was little, he was sick all the time.

  • No, Will got really sick, so now we're back.

  • Six of them became sick and three of them died.

  • Meanwhile, his son is really sick back in the village.

  • Well, since we're both sick, no harm in this.

  • My mother was very sick with pneumonia.

  • OK, so when you're sick, what's happening?

  • My mother was very sick with pneumonia.

Synonyms

ill
vssick
632 1.0

Not feeling well because of sickness

is the broad state of impaired body or mind function
under the weather
vssick
  • Informal
21 5.3

Feeling slightly ill and not your usual self

is the formal general term for impaired bodily or mental function
unwell
vssick
18 1.0

Feeling slightly sick or uncomfortable

is the general label for any reduced bodily or mental function
ailing
vssick
3 5.6

Having poor health and often getting sick

is the neutral description for any reduced physical or mental state
3 6.5

Feeling a little unwell and not your usual self

is the general condition of reduced physical or mental functioning
cruddy
vssick
  • Informal
1 8.2

Feeling slightly sick or not well

is the standard term for any impairment of health or function
sickish
vssick
1 6.7

Slightly ill in the stomach and likely to throw up

is the broad state of impaired bodily or mental function rather than a single symptom
poorly
vssick
2.8

Feeling ill or not well

is the overall condition of impaired body or mind performance
indisposed
vssick
6.9

Feeling slightly ill or unwell

is the basic health condition without implying unwillingness
pig-sick
vssick
  • Informal
9.8

Very ill or very fed up with something

is the neutral medical idea of being unwell rather than extreme slang

Antonyms

695 1.0

In good body and mind condition without sickness or injury

142 1.0

In good health after being ill or hurt

Idioms

sick of
  • Informal
522 5.8

Tired of something because you have had too much of it

sick and tired
  • Informal
117 5.3

Feeling very annoyed because you have had too much of something

Feeling like you will throw up

13 3.4

Away from work or school because you are ill

1 8.3

Away from work because you are ill

Very disappointed and upset because things did not turn out well

Very annoyed and no longer willing to accept someone or something

Compounds

55 1.0

A person who is ill

14 2.4

A period away from work because a worker is ill

sick joke
  • Offensive
12 7.9

A joke about cruel or shocking things that many people find upsetting

2 2.5

A bed where a person lies when they are ill or recovering

sick headache
  • Archaic
1 6.5

A severe headache that often makes you feel sick and unable to concentrate

1 2.5

A small disposable bag on planes for passengers to throw up into

sick call
  • Jargon
1 5.7

A set time when soldiers report to a medic if ill

1 2.3

Money a worker receives while they are off work because they are sick

sick list
  • Archaic
1 4.8

A list of people not at work because they are ill

A Roman Catholic ritual where a priest puts oil on a very sick person and prays for comfort

4.6

Feeling sick or dizzy when flying

milk-sick
  • Archaic
9.9

Sick after eating meat or drinking milk from animals that eat poisonous plants

pig-sick
  • Informal
9.8

Very ill or very fed up with something

3.2

Money the government pays to someone who cannot work because they are ill

7.5

A room on a ship where staff treat people who are ill or injured

sick parade
  • Jargon
8.2

A daily military meeting where soldiers report illnesses to a doctor

sick-abed
  • Archaic
9.9

Lying in bed because you are ill

sick-out
  • Literature
8.2

A group of workers who call in sick to protest and ask for change

7.7

Many people are absent from work or school because they are sick, causing big problems

How Sick

bedridden
11 4.5
ill
632 1.0
sick
1.0
unwell
18 1.0
under the weather
  • Informal
21 5.3

Surface Forms

sick positive
sicker comparative
sickest superlative

Etymology

Sick comes from an old English word seoc that meant 'ill' or 'diseased', so it still means 'unwell' today.