sickness
Americannoun
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a particular disease or malady.
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the state or an instance of being sick; illness.
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nausea; queasiness.
noun
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an illness or disease
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nausea or queasiness
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the state or an instance of being sick
Etymology
Origin of sickness
before 1000; Middle English siknesse, seknesse, Old English sēocnesse. See sick 1, -ness
Compare meaning
How does sickness compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
The condition of being unwell or having an illness is sickness. Your sickness during the month of November might mean you miss a lot of school. A well-known, Christian version of wedding vows includes a promise to "have and to hold...in sickness and in health." This means the couple agrees to stay together and support each other whether they're healthy or ill. Some sickness is a chronic or permanent kind of malady, while others are more specific, like morning sickness during pregnancy or a brief flash of sickness when your plane hits a patch of turbulence.
Vocabulary lists containing sickness
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.
Never mind glugging water and taking medication, it turns out sinking birdies putts is the best cure for sickness.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
She is traveling by train to an unnamed city for a book festival, where she will be expected to speak with authority about the war—an assumed connection that fills her with sickness and shame.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
One version of the molecule helped treat morning sickness in pregnant women, while its mirror image caused serious birth defects.
From Science Daily • Mar. 21, 2026
That moment came for me earlier this year, after a back-to-back-back trifecta of holidays, sickness and travel.
From Salon • Mar. 9, 2026
He or she—it was usually she—could ride hyenas at night and spread sickness, and in the morning she wouldn't remember anything about it.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
