Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com
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.

It was also condemned by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which described the video as "sickening and totally inexcusable".

From BBC

It’s horrible and it’s sickening and it’s just there.

From Los Angeles Times

Combs has previously denied the complaints, calling them "sickening" and "full of lies".

From BBC

The cancer - affecting both the bone marrow and blood - is rare, sickening four in 100,000 adults each year.

From BBC

It was not the sickening sway of the rising balloon that had sent her to the floor of the basket with her knees clutched to her chest.

From Literature

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.