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sick

n.
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈsɪk// UK //sˈɪk// sick Archaic General-service Informal Slang

n. feeling ill or not healthy. You use this when your body feels bad or when you think you might vomit.

n. affected by physical or mental illness; unwell. In British English, specifically associated with the act of vomiting or the feeling of nausea.


SIMPLE

I stayed home today because I feel sick.

CONTEXTUAL

She had to leave the meeting early because she started feeling sick after lunch.

COMPLEX

The doctor advised him to rest for several days, noting that his symptoms were typical of a seasonal virus making people sick across the city.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

Variant of sic, itself an alteration of seek.

Usage

Can be used before a noun or after a linking verb like 'feel' or 'be'.

Pitfall

I am sick since MondayI have been sick since MondayWhen describing a state that started in the past and continues now, use the present perfect, not the simple present.

Idioms10 entries

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