sicken

[sik-uhn]

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verb (used with or without object)

to make or become sick.

Origin of sicken

1150–1200; Middle English seknen, sicnen; cognate with Old Norse sjūkna. See sick¹, -en¹

Related formsre·sick·en, verbun·sick·ened, adjective

Synonyms for sicken

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repulse, revolt, disgust, upset.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for sicken

repulse, afflict, nauseate, repel, disgust, offend, affect, unsettle, upset, turn, derange, disorder, unhinge, reluct

Examples from the Web for sicken

Contemporary Examples of sicken

Or because the series of unfortunate events that we call old age tends to find and sicken the elderly?
Barbara Walters Hit With Chicken Pox—a Rare Malady Among Octogenarians
Kent Sepkowitz
January 29, 2013

Historical Examples of sicken

He was strangely reticent; my news seemed to benumb and sicken him.
The Cavalier
George Washington Cable
His brutality had made the delicacy in her crouch and sicken.
A Spirit in Prison
Robert Hichens
It was less invective than scornful, and scorn that seemed to sicken her as she spoke it.
Sir Jasper Carew
Charles James Lever
That trace of effluvia which in force could sicken a Terran, was his guide.
Storm Over Warlock
Andre Norton
I saw enough of these, even in the best, to sicken me with mankind.
Who Are Happiest? and Other Stories
T. S. Arthur

British Dictionary definitions for sicken

sicken

verb

to make or become sick, nauseated, or disgusted
(intr often foll by for) to show symptoms (of an illness)

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 sicken

c.1200, "to become ill," from sick (adj.) + -en (1). Transitive sense of "to make sick" is recorded from 1610s. Related: Sickened; sickening. The earlier verb was simply sick (Old English seocan) "to be ill, fall ill."