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.
In reality, she is prone to motion sickness.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026
They’ll be using their current experience to do so, including the higher sickness and death rates they’re seeing thanks to a higher uninsured or underinsured population.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
But she had to pull out at the last minute, telling fans on Thursday that she had to cancel due to sickness.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
The use of GLP-1 medications -- particularly semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy -- was associated with fewer psychiatric hospital visits and reduced sickness absence.
From Science Daily • May 4, 2026
‘Many winters ago, they banded together in secret. At first they called themselves the Healers. Deceived themselves into believing that they’ wished only to do good; to cure sickness, guard against demons.’
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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.
