sicken
Americanverb
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to make or become sick, nauseated, or disgusted
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to show symptoms (of an illness)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sickensimple
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sickenssimple
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have sickenedperfect
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has sickenedperfect
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am sickeningprogressive
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are sickeningprogressive
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is sickeningprogressive
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have been sickeningperfect progressive
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has been sickeningperfect progressive
Past
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sickenedsimple
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had sickenedperfect
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was sickeningprogressive
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were sickeningprogressive
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had been sickeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sicken
1150–1200; Middle English seknen, sicnen; cognate with Old Norse sjūkna. See sick 1, -en 1
Explanation
Things that sicken you make you feel upset or ill. It might sicken you to realize that you've hit a squirrel with your car. When things sicken you, they either make you feel terrible — disgusted or horrified — or they make you physically sick. Eating a piece of moldy bread or some potato salad that's been sitting in the sun too long will probably sicken you. Reading a story about childhood hunger and poverty in the newspaper can also sicken you. The earliest meaning of sicken was "fall ill," from an Old English root, seoc, "ill, diseased, weak, or troubled."
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.
See Examples For:
The problem with this line is that unvaccinated children can sicken infants and immuno-compromised children who can’t be inoculated, leaving some disabled or worse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
Microplastics, along with ultra-tiny nanoplastics, can kill or severely sicken marine life before entering the food web and ultimately ending up on our plates.
From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026
Scotland driving at Greece's heart in a bid to sicken them again after sickening them at Hampden earlier in the group.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025
An infected flea, although rare, can sicken pets, which are vulnerable to the disease, Chopra said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2025
If you were to sicken or die, I should be desolate.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
“Gossip is an evil that destroys social life, sickens people’s hearts and leads to nothing,” the 88-year-old pontiff admonished.
From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2024
Influenza, or flu, sickens millions of people across the globe each year and can lead to severe illness and death.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 1, 2024
In the U.S. alone, the bug sickens thousands and kills hundreds every year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2024
Caerphilly Bird Rescue posted a comment about the video, saying it "sickens me to the stomach".
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2023
It sickens me to think that such an evil man can feel pity.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Nearly 13,000 people across 21 states had been sickened, 570 hospitalized and two had died after an outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
The massive diarrhea-causing parasitic outbreak that sickened tens of thousands of people across 21 states over the summer has ended, though officials continue to investigate the cause of contamination.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
"They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive."
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
“They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive.”
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Thomas was sickened to the verge of throwing up.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
The cyclospora outbreak has become the nation’s largest of its kind, sickening thousands of people.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Despite the uptick, officials say California is not included in the cyclosporiasis outbreak that’s hit 15 states, sickening tens of thousands of people with prolonged bouts of diarrhea.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
And I would be living within walking distance of a sickening number of farmers markets.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
The Mexico striker could have died on the football pitch in November 2020 when a sickening head injury left him with a fractured skull.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
My stomach did a sickening flip as I made the mistake of looking down to the pavement nine stories below.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
