sweating sickness

Save This Word!

noun

a febrile epidemic disease that appeared in the 15th and 16th centuries: characterized by profuse sweating and frequently fatal in a few hours.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of sweating sickness

First recorded in 1495–1505

Words nearby sweating sickness

sweater girl, sweat gland, sweat gland carcinoma, sweat glands, sweathouse, sweating sickness, sweating system, sweat lodge, sweat off, sweat of one's brow, sweat out

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use sweating sickness in a sentence

The sickness in her mind was a reflection of the sickness of her life, a sickness created by her family and her society.
Cover-Ups and Concern Trolls: Actually, It's About Ethics in Suicide Journalism|Arthur Chu|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You already protect you, and look after you in sickness and in health.
Why Singles Should Say ‘I Don’t’ to The Self-Marriage Movement|Tim Teeman|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I knew there would be good times and bad, sickness and health, broken dishwashers and giant cockroaches in the bathroom.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder|Carrie Arnold|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We are talking about public gatherings, people will be together, dancing, sweating, and touching each other.
Liberian Senatorial Elections Defy Ebola|Wade Williams|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The news is being taken as confirmation that Kate is fully recovered from her pregnancy sickness.
Why Prince George Won't Be Coming To NY and DC With Will And Kate|Tom Sykes|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sickness had never blanched the warm glow on her cheeks, or dimmed the brightness of her large, lustrous eyes.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie
"Sleeping sickness" is a late stage when the organisms have invaded the cerebrospinal fluid.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
So that (wonderful to relate) they had no sickness, although there was sufficient cause for it in the privations they suffered.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
They arrived on the 29th January, after a very good passage, and without one hour's sickness.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
The same story everywhere—lack of men, meaning extra work—which again means sickness and still greater lack of men.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for sweating sickness

sweating sickness

noun

the nontechnical name for miliary fever

an acute infectious febrile disease that was widespread in Europe during the late 15th century, characterized by profuse sweating

a disease of cattle, esp calves, prevalent in southern Africa. Transmitted by ticks, it is characterized by sweating, hair loss, and inflammation of the mouth and eyes

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