sick
- 01 A2 Elementary
adj.feeling like you are going to vomit.
adj.feeling nauseous or experiencing the urge to vomit.
Simple“The bumpy car ride made the children feel quite sick.”
In context“He felt increasingly sick as the small ferry tossed violently in the heavy swells of the channel.”
UsageOften used with 'feel' or 'get'.
Synonymsnauseousqueasy - 02 B1 Intermediate
adj.very annoyed or bored with something that keeps happening.
adj.thoroughly weary of or annoyed by something due to repetition or duration.
Simple“I am sick of eating the same sandwich every single day.”
In context“The residents grew sick of the constant construction noise that disrupted their sleep for six consecutive months.”
UsageAlmost always followed by the preposition 'of'.
Antonyms - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.describing a joke or behavior that is cruel or offensive.
adj.disturbing, cruel, or morbid in a way that offends standard social sensibilities.
Simple“That was a sick joke to tell at a funeral.”
In context“The film was criticized for its sick sense of humor, which many viewers found unnecessarily graphic and insensitive.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
adj.very good, cool, or impressive.
adj.exceptionally good, impressive, or aesthetically pleasing.
Simple“Did you see his new car? It looks absolutely sick.”
In context“The lead guitarist performed a sick solo that left the entire audience in stunned silence.”
Teacher's tipThis is a 'contronym' where a negative word is used positively. It is very common in youth culture and extreme sports contexts.
- 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the food or liquid that comes out of your mouth when you are ill.
n.matter vomited from the stomach.
Simple“There was some sick on the rug after the dog got into the trash.”
In context“The janitor was called to clean up the sick in the hallway after the flu outbreak hit the primary school.”
UsageUncountable noun.
Synonyms - 06 C1 Advanced
n.money paid by the government to people who are too ill to work.
n.social security payments or leave entitlement provided to those incapacitated by illness.
Simple“He has been on the sick for six months following his back injury.”
In context“The local council reported a significant increase in the number of residents currently on the long-term sick.”
UsageUsually appears in the phrase 'on the sick'.
Synonymssick paybenefits - 07 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to be sick; to bring up food from your stomach.
v.to eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth.
Simple“The baby sicked up a little bit of milk on my shoulder.”
In context“He felt so dizzy that he feared he might sick up his dinner right there on the pavement.”
UsageOften used as 'sick up'.
Synonymsvomitthrow up
Usage sick leave
From Middle English sik, sike, seek, seke, seok, from Old English sēoc (“sick, ill”), from Proto-West Germanic seuk, from Proto-Germanic seukaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sewg- (“to be troubled or grieved”). See also West Frisian siik, Dutch ziek, German siech, Norwegian Bokmål syk, Norwegian Nynorsk sjuk, Danish syg; also Middle Irish socht (“silence, depression”), Old Armenian հիւծանիմ (hiwcanim, “I am weakening”). The "very good, excellent" sense is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of "in poor health". Compare similar semantic development in terrific and wicked.
Variant of sic, itself an alteration of seek.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.