radiation sickness

noun

: sickness that results from exposure to radiation and is commonly marked by fatigue, nausea, vomiting, loss of teeth and hair, and in more severe cases by damage to blood-forming tissue with decrease in red and white blood cells and with bleeding

Examples of radiation sickness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Clarence Dally may have been the first American to die of radiation sickness, but by 1908 the American Roentgen Ray Society reported 47 fatalities due to radiation. —IEEE Spectrum, 30 Oct. 2020

Miko was born the same year, and her mother died shortly after from radiation sickness. —Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 5 Dec. 2024

The researchers determined radiation exposure in these spots stayed at a safe level for the astronauts to avoid acute radiation sickness. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 19 Sep. 2024

Tens of thousands of people were killed by the 1945 atomic bombs, both instantly and in the months and years that followed due to radiation sickness. —Hanako Montgomery, CNN, 1 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for radiation sickness

• homesickness
• seasickness
• quickness
• thickness

Medical Definition

radiation sickness

noun

: sickness that results from exposure to radiation and is commonly marked by fatigue, nausea, vomiting, loss of teeth and hair, and in more severe cases by damage to blood-forming tissue with decrease in red and white blood cells and with bleeding