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Synonyms

sickening

American  
[sik-uh-ning] / ˈsɪk ə nɪŋ /

adjective

  1. causing or capable of causing sickness, especially nausea, disgust, or loathing.

    sickening arrogance.
    Synonyms:
    loathsome, disgusting, nauseating
sickening British  
/ ˈsɪkənɪŋ /

adjective

  1. causing sickness or revulsion

  2. informal extremely annoying

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • sickeningly adverb

Etymology

Origin of sickening

First recorded in 1715–25; sicken + -ing 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In fact, such a thing had been in the works since the 1950s, but instead of hurrying to get them assembly-line ready as L.A. was sickening with smog, Detroit just made bigger, filthier cars.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Pretti's family issued a statement in response to the comment saying "the sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting".

From BBC • Jan. 26, 2026

"The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting," they said.

From Barron's • Jan. 25, 2026

“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” they said in a statement to local media.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 25, 2026

And yet the smell was kind of sickening; it made her head reel.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.