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sick

[sik]

Example Sentences Origin

adjective

afflicted with ill health or disease; ailing.

affected with nausea; inclined to vomit.

deeply affected with some unpleasant feeling, as of sorrow, disgust, or boredom: sick at heart; to be sick of parties.

mentally, morally, or emotionally deranged, corrupt, or unsound: a sick mind; wild statements that made him seem sick.

characteristic of a sick mind: sick fancies.

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dwelling on or obsessed with that which is gruesome, sadistic, ghoulish, or the like; morbid: a sick comedian; sick jokes.

of, pertaining to, or for use during sickness: He applied for sick benefits.

accompanied by or suggestive of sickness; sickly: a sick pallor; the sick smell of disinfectant in the corridors.

disgusted; chagrined.

10.

not in proper condition; impaired.

11.

Agriculture.

failing to sustain adequate harvests of some crop, usually specified: a wheat-sick soil.

containing harmful microorganisms: a sick field.

12.

Now Rare. menstruating.

COLLAPSE

noun

13.

(used with a plural verb) sick persons collectively (usually preceded by the).

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Sick is always a great word to know.

So is interrobang. Does it mean:

a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

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Idioms

14.

call in sick, to notify one's place of employment by telephone that one will be absent from work because of being ill.

15.

sick and tired, utterly weary; fed up: I'm sick and tired of working so hard!

16.

sick at one's stomach, Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. nauseated.

17.

sick to one's stomach, Chiefly Northern, North Midland, and Western U.S. nauseated.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English sik, sek, Old English sēoc; cognate with Dutch ziek, German siech, Old Norse sjūkr, Gothic siuks

Synonyms
1. infirm, indisposed. See ill. 2. nauseous, nauseated.

Antonyms
1. well, hale, healthy.

Example Sentences

Fortunately, physicians no longer believe that bleeding the sick will make them healthy.

Everyone has the occasional flat tire or sick child.

Poor countries are sick because they are poor, but they are also poor because they are sick.

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Fortunately, physicians no longer believe that bleeding the sick will make them healthy.

Everyone has the occasional flat tire or sick child.

Poor countries are sick because they are poor, but they are also poor because they are sick.

Women bear the brunt of taking care of sick family members.

Just looking at sick people protects against illness.

Research suggests the so-called brutes fashioned tools, buried their dead, maybe cared for the sick and even conversed.

She's adopting that wide stance that is telltaleso far she doesn't act sick at all.

Imagine knowing you'll be too sick to go to work, before the faintest hint of a runny nose or a sore throat.

Their parents will be called, and nurses and others who have contact with sick children will have to wear masks and gloves.

Sick leave, sabbatical and other leaves are available according to the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.

Too big to fail, too big to nationalize, too sick to live on.

Canvas tents kept the sick separated and less likely to spread the deadly virus.

Most people don't want to get sick and don't want to make their children sick.

He also scooped up a sick chick-its eyes were crusted shut-planning to nurse it back to health and return it to its nest.

Other people make us smarter, but they also make us sick.

The boy with his first cigar is not the only thing that tobacco makes sick.

In one, a graduate student who is a single parent cancels a discussion session because of a sick child.

They found a sick old man living a reclusive life in a village in a house owned by his family.

Sick devils also become emaciated, because the tumors interfere with eating, and many mothers lose their young.

Without these urchins to graze on them, the algae quickly overran the stony corals, many of which were already sick.

But no combination of spices will mask the awful smell of rotten meat or keep you from getting violently sick.

That's a pretty sensationalistic way of saying those who were prayed for were a lot less sick.

Believe it or not, an opinion writer can sometimes get sick of his own voice.

There are hundreds of channels that can be flipped through when you are bored, sick or need to chill out.

With more people now falling sick from malaria than ever before, the need to tackle it has never been so urgent.

Susanne makes an excelent point, sick people are more pessimistic than healthy people.

Since my son has allergies, making his bed in the morning could literally make him sick.

The stigmatization of the sick is already evident, as panic increases.

The country excels at treating sick people and does a horrible job keeping them from getting sick in the first place.

Research shows that many people get sick and even die from eating sea turtle meat.

People that are sick or depressed don't pick up and move to a new country.

It is diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug administered to livestock when they fall sick.

The way that humans take care of the sick and infirm within their communities is considered a unique trait.

Just need to cut spending on the poor, sick and young to match the cost.

Lots of people are exposed to malaria and never get sick.

So when you're sick and you get the chills, the authors say, your body may be trying to tell you to hop under some blankets.

I'll say this-the designers did a good job conveying the special misery of a sick bird.

She was on sick leave from work, and they no longer saw each other or spoke offline.

Volunteers care for the monkeys when they are sick or injured.

Researchers hope the work will point the way to better emergency rations for sick children.

Is there somewhere to test the food that made me sick.

The sick took to their beds with fever, piercing headache, and joint pain.

Used to be that sick kids got lollypops after a visit with the doctor.

There was a proliferation of flies that make caribou sick.

US researchers say they can put people off fattening foods by tricking them into believing the foods made them sick as a child.

One can literally make oneself sick thinking about these people.

Volunteers care for the monkeys when they are sick or injuredVideo.

People had been getting sick periodically for years, he said.

Getting sick or injured on vacation not only ruins the fun, it can wreck your finances.

They have been sick for a few days and seem to be getting worse, not better.

Dangerous myths deter many sick rural folk from seeking medical help.

Charlie's mother was too sick to nurse him, and workers struggled to keep.

The measure would make the state the first in the nation to mandate some employers to give employees paid sick days.

It's not only low, sick and tasteless, it is also cruel.

Stay away from family gatherings and reunions if you are sick or if one of your family members is sick.

Elephants will physically support a sick or hurt relative trying to walk.

Buy from a reputable beekeeper to avoid getting diseased equipment or sick bees.

No amount of legislation can demand paid sick days from a defunct company.

We aren't there to fill in for last-minute enrollments, or for a full-time instructor who suddenly gets sick.

Voters, sick of the tales of graft that fill their newspapers, would have cheered swift action.

Then you've likely got a sick or under-watered plant.

Smokers take more than a week more annual sick leave than nonsmokers, a new study suggests.

It is your responsibility, however, to deal with effects of getting sick.

But when their business involves the residential care of elderly, sick or vulnerable people, it is a different matter.

Learn what steps you can take to minimize the chances you'll get sick.

The city will pick up medical costs for any guest who gets sick while visiting.

The biological legacy of childhood poverty may linger for decades, leaving adults who grew up poor more likely to get sick.

The program, often criticized, aims to enable the sick or elderly poor to.

Unless you plan to be working on a poulty farm during your stay, you're more likely to get sick in your university's cafeteria.

Kamli says she once tried taking a sick child to a state-run hospital, but was rebuffed.

It provides an alibi for health insurance companies so they don't have to pay for treatment for these sick kids.

Researchers investigate a new treatment for liver cancer that could help patients too sick for traditional surgery.

Have taken a whole bunch of sick leaves this month and the last.

American democracy, it seems, is as sick as the planet.

We seem to take turns getting sick, feeling better, then getting sick all over again.

Here's our guide for mixing up your own batch of the sick stuff.

He thinks that they are sick and that they can be treated.

Her tests revealed it was sick with tuberculosis-the human version.

Some hospitals encourage handwashing by posting signs that tell docs a simple scrub will prevent them from getting sick.

Such a database could let agricultural officials determine within hours where a sick animal came from and where it went.

After all, healthy people can work longer and harder than sick people.

My mother is constantly sick and can no longer fend for us.

He made the same journey weeks later in the back of a truck, sick with dysentery.

His sick vision is your sweet tooth's wildest dream come true.

If you're sick and can't make a shift you don't get paid.

The sick jailer made up the whole disgusting story as a plot to destroy.

Gadgets only get away with these sick head games because they think they can.

But overall, funding for stem-cell research will surely increase, raising hopes for many sick people.

Girls drop out of school to care for sick parents or younger siblings.

Across the nation, insomniacs, the sick and the simply curious are gobbling up melatonin.

The industry, already sick because of the recession, turned a bit bluer in the face at the news.

They shoulder the burden of care for the sick as well as orphaned children, and they represent the bulk of new infections.

The vast majority who got sick had direct contact with infected birds.

And local people, sick of the lawlessness, seem glad of this.

Researchers are continually finding new evidence that common items in our kitchens, bathrooms and toy chests can make us sick.

In other words, they were often performed to make doctors richer rather than to make sick people better.

There they will care for sick vultures and try to identify what's killing these species.

Sick animals will likely be picked off by predators and not survive long enough to develop obvious symptoms.

People worldwide are becoming sick of weak leaders who lead the nation in its capitals.

But visitors who are sick of heat, crowds and outlandish pavilions.

These animals are often sick and unable to hunt normally, or live in areas where their traditional prey has vanished.

People are now afraid when they get sick or unemployed because of the uncertain life they get.

She added that lots of people play in the sand, but few seem to get sick from it.

Medical and sanitary wastes are biohazards that can make people sick.

The birds fly into power lines, get shot by sick people, and ingest chemicals of one kind or the other.

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged

verb (used with object)

sic¹.

Link To sick

Collins

World English Dictionary

sick¹ (sɪk)

—*adj*
1.	inclined or likely to vomit
2.	a. suffering from ill health
	b. (as collective noun; preceded by the): the sick
3.	a. of, relating to, or used by people who are unwell: sick benefits
	b. (in combination): sickroom
4.	deeply affected with a mental or spiritual feeling akin to physical sickness: sick at heart
5.	mentally, psychologically, or spiritually disturbed
6.	informal delighting in or catering for the macabre or sadistic; morbid: sick humour
7.	informal (often foll by of) Also: sick and tired disgusted or weary, esp because satiated: I am sick of his everlasting laughter
8.	(often foll by for) weary with longing; pining: I am sick for my own country
9.	pallid or sickly
10.	not in working order
11.	(of land) unfit for the adequate production of certain crops
12.	slang look sick to be outclassed

—n, —vb
13.	an informal word for vomit

[Old English sēoc; related to Old Norse skjūkr, Gothic siuks, Old High German sioh]

'sickish¹

—*adj*

sick² (sɪk)

—vb
	a variant spelling of sic

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

sick

"set upon" (sick him!), 1845, dialectal variant of seek.

EXPAND

sick

"unwell," O.E. seoc, from P.Gmc. *seukaz, of uncertain origin. The general Gmc. word (cf. O.N. sjukr, Dan. syg, O.S. siok, O.Fris. siak, M.Du. siec, O.H.G. sioh, Goth. siuks "sick, ill"), but in Ger. and Du. displaced by krank "weak, slim," probably originally with a sense of "twisted, bent" (see

crank). Meaning "having an inclination to vomit" is from 1614; sense of "tired or weary (of something)" is from 1597; phrase sick and tired of is attested from 1783. Meaning "mentally twisted" is from 1551 (though sense of "spiritually or morally corrupt" was in O.E.), revived 1955. Sick joke is from 1959; sicko (n.) is from 1977. Sickening "causing revulsion" is first recorded 1789. The noun meaning "those who are sick" was in O.E. Sickness is O.E. seocnesse; sickly "ailing" is recorded from c.1350.

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

sick (sĭk)
adj. sick·er, sick·est

Suffering from or affected with a disease or disorder.
Of or for sick persons.
Nauseated.
Mentally ill or disturbed.
Constituting an unhealthy environment for those working or residing within, as of a building.

Slang Dictionary

sick (up) definition

in.
to empty one's stomach; to vomit. : I think I'm going to sick up. Isn't there supposed to be a barf bag in one of these seat pockets?

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

sick

In addition to the idioms beginning with sick, also see call in sick; get sick; make one sick; worried sick.