squeamish

adjective

squea·​mish ˈskwē-mish 

1

a

: easily nauseated : queasy

b

: affected with nausea

2

a

: excessively fastidious or scrupulous in conduct or belief

b

: easily offended or disgusted

squeamishly adverb

squeamishness noun

Synonyms

• sick
• queasy
• nauseous

Examples of squeamish in a Sentence

I used to be squeamish about eating raw fish.

I'm too squeamish to watch horror movies.

Recent Examples on the Web

As 82-year-old Scorsese and his pal Steven Spielberg recall in a first-look clip from the the upcoming five-part Apple TV+ documentary Mr. Scorsese, Columbia Pictures, squeamish about some of the bloody content of the movie, almost stopped Scorsese's vision from riding into theaters. —Jeremy Helligar, People.com, 11 Aug. 2025

California’s medical community, for example, clearly remains squeamish about MAID. —Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 28 July 2025

Persons who are morally squeamish should not attempt it. —Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025

Rodgers, 41, had not expressed a sense of certainty (via his agent) about his plans, which made Schneider squeamish. —Michael Silver, New York Times, 19 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English squaymisch, modification of Anglo-French escoymous

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing squeamish

• not for the squeamish
• the squeamish

Rhymes for squeamish

• beamish

Kids Definition

squeamish

adjective

squea·​mish ˈskwē-mish 

1

a

: easily made sick : queasy

b

: affected with nausea : nauseated

2

: easily shocked or disgusted

squeamishly adverb

squeamishness noun