sick

[ sik ]

/ sɪk /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sick ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, sick·er, sick·est.

afflicted with ill health or disease; ailing.

affected with nausea; inclined to vomit.

deeply affected with some unpleasant feeling, as of sorrow, disgust, or boredom: sick at heart; to be sick of parties.

mentally, morally, or emotionally deranged, corrupt, or unsound: a sick mind; wild statements that made him seem sick.

characteristic of a sick mind: sick fancies.

dwelling on or obsessed with that which is gruesome, sadistic, ghoulish, or the like; morbid: a sick comedian; sick jokes.

of, relating to, or for use during sickness: He applied for sick benefits.

accompanied by or suggestive of sickness; sickly: a sick pallor; the sick smell of disinfectant in the corridors.

disgusted; chagrined.

not in proper condition; impaired.

Slang. great; amazing: The plot is boring but the special effects are sick!

Agriculture.

failing to sustain adequate harvests of some crop, usually specified: a wheat-sick soil.
containing harmful microorganisms: a sick field.

Now Rare. menstruating.

noun

(used with a plural verb) sick persons collectively (usually preceded by the).

Nearby words

Idioms

call in sick, to notify one's place of employment by telephone that one will be absent from work because of being ill.

sick and tired, utterly weary; fed up: I'm sick and tired of working so hard!

sick at one's stomach, Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. nauseated.

sick to one's stomach, Chiefly Northern, North Midland, and Western U.S. nauseated.

Origin of sick

before 900; Middle English sik, sek, Old English sēoc; cognate with Dutch ziek, German siech, Old Norse sjūkr, Gothic siuks

SYNONYMS FOR sick

1. infirm, indisposed. See ill. 2. nauseous, nauseated.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sick ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR sick

1. well, hale, healthy.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR sick ON THESAURUS.COM

sick

[ sik ]

/ sɪk /

verb (used with object)

sic¹.

sic

or sick

[ sik ]

/ sɪk /

verb (used with object), sicced or sicked [sikt] /sɪkt/, sic·cing or sick·ing.

to attack (used especially in commanding a dog): Sic 'em!

to incite to attack (usually followed by on).

Origin of sic

First recorded in 1835–45; variant of seek

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sick

And not just sick in the body but in your mind, because you start obsessing.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I was sick in street gutters, onto my desk, at dinners with friends.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We are the sick ones who torment trans people every day of their lives.
Cover-Ups and Concern Trolls: Actually, It's About Ethics in Suicide Journalism|Arthur Chu|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It happens, of course, but the less time a person is sick, the better their chances of recovery.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder|Carrie Arnold|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

If she is sick or has an emergency, she forfeits any pay for that day.
Care Providers Fight for $15 and a Union|Jasmin Almodovar, Shirley Thompson|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Besides, it is needful to remember what star and what sign of the Zodiac rules the sick person.
The Pharaoh and the Priest|Alexander Glovatski
"To-morrow I will bring it to you," said the songstress, who knew the whims of the sick woman.
The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume II (of 2)|Alexandre Dumas pre
To-morrow it's going forward to the sick men in the forecastle.
For Jacinta|Harold Bindloss
One evening the pastor, on his way from visiting a sick person, called in at Hans' house, and sat by the fire to warm himself.
The German Lieutenant and Other Stories|August Strindberg
I wondered how Ayesha knew that Inez was sick, but being too tired to ask questions, merely bade him lead on.
She and Allan|H. Rider Haggard

British Dictionary definitions for sick

sick

/ (sɪk) /

adjective

inclined or likely to vomit

suffering from ill health
(as collective noun; preceded by the)the sick

of, relating to, or used by people who are unwellsick benefits
(in combination)sickroom

deeply affected with a mental or spiritual feeling akin to physical sicknesssick at heart

mentally, psychologically, or spiritually disturbed

informal delighting in or catering for the macabre or sadistic; morbidsick humour

Also: sick and tired (often foll by of) informal disgusted or weary, esp because satiatedI am sick of his everlasting laughter

(often foll by for) weary with longing; piningI am sick for my own country

pallid or sickly

not in working order

(of land) unfit for the adequate production of certain crops

look sick slang to be outclassed

noun, verb

an informal word for vomit

Word Origin for sick

Old English sēoc; related to Old Norse skjūkr, Gothic siuks, Old High German sioh

verb

a variant spelling of sic 2

sic

/ (sɪk) /

adverb

so or thus: inserted in brackets in a written or printed text to indicate that an odd or questionable reading is what was actually written or printed

Word Origin for sic

Latin

sic

/ (sɪk) /

verb sics, sicking or sicked (tr)

to turn on or attack: used only in commands, as to a dog

to urge (a dog) to attack

Word Origin for sic

C19: dialect variant of seek

sic

/ (sɪk) /

determiner, adverb

a Scot word for such

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

Word Origin and History for sick

sick

"to chase, set upon" (as in command sick him!), 1845, dialectal variant of seek. Used as an imperative to incite a dog to attack a person or animal; hence "cause to pursue." Related: Sicked; sicking.

sick

adj.

"unwell," Old English seoc "ill, diseased, feeble, weak; corrupt; sad, troubled, deeply affected," from Proto-Germanic *seukaz, of uncertain origin. The general Germanic word (cf. Old Norse sjukr, Danish syg, Old Saxon siok, Old Frisian siak, Middle Dutch siec, Dutch ziek, Old High German sioh, Gothic siuks "sick, ill"), but in German and Dutch displaced by krank "weak, slim," probably originally with a sense of "twisted, bent" (see crank (n.)).

Restricted meaning "having an inclination to vomit, affected with nausea" is from 1610s; sense of "tired or weary (of something), disgusted from satiety" is from 1590s; phrase sick and tired of is attested from 1783. Meaning "mentally twisted" in modern colloquial use is from 1955, a revival of the word in this sense from 1550s (sense of "spiritually or morally corrupt" was in Old English, which also had seocmod "infirm of mind"); sick joke is from 1958.

"those who are sick," Old English seoce, from sick (adj).

sic

adv.

insertion in printed quotation to call attention to error in the original; Latin, literally "so, thus, in this way," related to or emphatic of si "if," from PIE root *so- "this, that" (cf. Old English sio "she"). Used regularly in English articles from 1876, perhaps by influence of similar use in French (1872).

[I]t amounts to Yes, he did say that, or Yes, I do mean that, in spite of your natural doubts. It should be used only when doubt is natural; but reviewers & controversialists are tempted to pretend that it is, because (sic) provides them with a neat & compendious form of sneer. [Fowler]

Sic passim is "generally so throughout."

sic

"to set upon, attack;" see sick (v.).

Medicine definitions for sick

sick

[ sĭk ]

adj.

Suffering from or affected with a disease or disorder.

Of or for sick persons.

Nauseated.

Mentally ill or disturbed.

Constituting an unhealthy environment for those working or residing within, as of a building.

Culture definitions for sick

sic

A Latin word for “thus,” used to indicate that an apparent error is part of quoted material and not an editorial mistake: “The learned geographer asserts that ‘the capital of the United States is Washingtown [sic].’”

Idioms and Phrases with sick

sick

In addition to the idioms beginning with sick

sick and tired
sick as a dog
sick at heart
sick in bed
sick joke
sick to one's stomach

also see:

call in sick
get sick
make one sick
worried sick

sick

adjective, sick·er, sick·est.

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of sick

sick

verb (used with object)

sic

or sick

verb (used with object), sicced or sicked [sikt] /sɪkt/, sic·cing or sick·ing.

Origin of sic

Examples from the Web for sick

sick

adjective

noun, verb

Word Origin for sick

verb

sic

adverb

Word Origin for sic

sic

verb sics, sicking or sicked (tr)

Word Origin for sic

sic

determiner, adverb

sick

sick

sic

sic

sick

adj.

sic

sick