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sickening
adjective
sick·en·ing
ˈsi-kə-niŋ
ˈsik-niŋ
: causing sickness or disgust
a sickening odor
a sickening display
Synonyms
Examples of sickening in a Sentence
a sickening display of selfishness
We heard the squeal of brakes and a sickening thud.
Recent Examples on the Web
Supporting a terrorist organization that aims to kill Jews is sickening and despicable.
—Fox News, 22 Apr. 2024
Combs has denied all of the allegations, calling them sickening.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 15 Apr. 2024
Preliminary genetic analysis of the strains collected from cattle has not yet found any telltale mutations that would make the virus clearly more capable of easily infecting or sickening mammals—humans included.
—Ed Cara / Gizmodo, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
These are sickening data and indeed suggest that the school workplace is making teachers sick.
—Brandon Busteed, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
The East Coast and Great Lakes regions got a taste of that future last summer, when wildfire smoke blown over from Canada’s record burns turned the sky in some places a sickening orange.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 21 Feb. 2024
As a massive underground garbage fire continues to spread sickening odors and noxious fumes over Castaic area neighborhoods, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger has called on Chiquita Canyon Landfill owners to relocate affected residents until the issue is resolved.
—Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2024
My buddy Jon got a bite, set the hook and immediately heard a sickening SNAP!
—Jordan Rodriguez, Idaho Statesman, 26 Jan. 2024
Everyone in the Rose Bowl felt the sickening churn in the depths of our guts.
—Tyler R. Tynes, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sickening.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1789, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing sickening
Dictionary Entries Near sickening
Cite this Entry
“Sickening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sickening. Accessed 8 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
sickening
adjective
sick·en·ing
ˈsik-(ə-)niŋ
: causing sickness or disgust
a sickening sight
sickeningly
adverb
Medical Definition
sickening
adjective
sick·en·ing
ˈsik-(ə-)niŋ
: causing sickness or nausea
More from Merriam-Webster on sickening
Nglish: Translation of sickening for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of sickening for Arabic Speakers
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