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Glite Dictionary
sick of

sick of

522 5.8
Tired of something because you have had too much of it
  • idiom
  • /sɪk ʌv/
  • Informal
translation icon : harto de
  • She is sick of hearing the same excuses from her friends every time.
  • get sick of
  • sick of hearing

I was so sick of reading and I can't explain why.

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Examples

  • I know I get sick of looking at computers all day long.

    Academic text (1991)

  • I am sick of having to take the stairs just so you can avoid Tony!

    Tim Kochis: Purple Heart (2013)

  • I think they are a little bit sick of it all.

    Variety

  • The teachers are so sick of the kids at that point.

  • I think people are sick of not being able to be authentic.

  • The Home Secretary says the public are sick of tough talk and inadequate action.

  • I'm just really sick of all of this.

  • Obviously I read this book because I'm sick of being single.

    Hannah (Sex & Relationships Education)

  • I'm getting sick of it.

    Jack Be Nimble (2022)

  • Maureen, I am sick of seeing his face.

Synonyms

tired of
vssick of
∞ 1.9

Bored or annoyed because you have had enough of something that keeps happening

is more intense, stressing extreme dislike rather than mild boredom
bored
vssick of
353 1.0

Feeling not interested and tired from doing the same thing too much

is more forceful, involving strong irritation after too much repetition
fed up
vssick of
  • Informal
121 3.6

Annoyed, bored, or tired because you have had too much of something

is stronger, stressing deep irritation or boredom from excess
sick and tired
vssick of
  • Informal
117 5.3

Feeling very annoyed because you have had too much of something

is effectively identical, marking extreme irritation from having had enough
fed up with
vssick of
  • Informal
83 3.9

Feeling annoyed or bored because something has gone on too long

carries greater intensity, showing severe dislike from repeated exposure
annoyed
vssick of
77 1.0

Feeling a little angry or bothered by something small

is much stronger, meaning deep irritation or boredom from excess
jaded
vssick of
40 6.3

Feeling bored and tired after doing or seeing something too often

is stronger by adding clear anger as well as weariness from excess
to had it up to here
vssick of
  • Informal
9 9.0

To no longer accept something annoying or unfair

focuses on extreme boredom or anger after too much exposure
browned off
vssick of
  • UK
1 8.9

Annoyed and fed up after repeated problems or long delays

leans more toward tiredness and indifference than quick irritation
sick to the back teeth
vssick of
  • UK
8.7

Very annoyed and no longer willing to accept someone or something

is the same strong feeling including both anger and boredom from excess

Antonyms

satisfied
285 1.3

Pleased because you achieved something or got the result you wanted

How Annoyed

sick of
  • Informal
522 5.8
fed up
  • Informal
121 3.6
irritated
44 3.1
annoyed
77 1.0

Surface Forms

sick of positive

Morphology

sick + of

The meaning 'extremely annoyed or bored by something' is directly derivable from 'sick' (fed up) with 'of' marking the cause/target, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE meaning. This is a common compositional pattern with cross-linguistic parallels (e.g. Spanish 'harto de', French 'fatigué de'), making the expression transparent.

Etymology

The phrase sick of comes from the simple image of being sick after too much of something, like feeling ill from eating too much food or from a bad smell. So when you say you are sick of something, you mean you are 'fed up' or 'annoyed' because you have had too much of it.