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sicken

[sik-uh n]
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verb (used with or without object)
  1. to make or become sick.
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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

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repulse, revolt, disgust, upset.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sicken

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • 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.

British Dictionary definitions for sicken

sicken

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

v.

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."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper