: intentionally so written
—used after a printed word or passage to indicate that it is intended exactly as printed or to indicate that it exactly reproduces an original
said he seed [sic] it all
variants
or less commonly sick
sicced also sicked
ˈsikt 
; siccing also sicking
; siccing also sicking
2
: to incite or urge to an attack, pursuit, or harassment : set
sicced their lawyers on me
Did you know?
The adverb sic, usually enclosed in brackets, is a word editors use in the reproduction of someone else's speech or writing to indicate that an unexpected form exactly reproduces the original and is not a copier's mistake. Sic comes from Latin, in which it means "so" or "thus." Though it's a useful tool, some usage commentators feel it is bad manners to use a sic to needlessly call attention to someone's error or to deride the language of a less-educated person.
Examples of sic in a Sentence
Verb
commanded the attack dogs to "sic 'em"
Recent Examples on the Web
Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
Senator Collins, on behalf of all fisherman (sic) of Maine, thank you for your continual support in preserving our heritage, tradition and economy.
—Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 15 Mar. 2025
Bonnie Young; Joe Millman of Chamberlin; Diego Binetti of Love Binetti; Lee Evans Lee of Mrs [sic] Momma Bear; Tania Mackey of Niczka; Papa Oppong of the Papa Oppong brand; Najla Burt and Cynthia Burt of Dur Doux, Alice Kim of PerfectDD; Jack Sivan of Sivan, and Shwetambari Mody of Shwetambari.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 7 Mar. 2025
American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on [sic] the crime, arrested.
—Scott Nover, TIME, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sic
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Look just to the recent past at their plagiarizing President, who so greatly embarrassed Harvard before the United States States [sic] Congress.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
Senator Collins, on behalf of all fisherman (sic) of Maine, thank you for your continual support in preserving our heritage, tradition and economy.
—Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 15 Mar. 2025
Bonnie Young; Joe Millman of Chamberlin; Diego Binetti of Love Binetti; Lee Evans Lee of Mrs [sic] Momma Bear; Tania Mackey of Niczka; Papa Oppong of the Papa Oppong brand; Najla Burt and Cynthia Burt of Dur Doux, Alice Kim of PerfectDD; Jack Sivan of Sivan, and Shwetambari Mody of Shwetambari.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 7 Mar. 2025
American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on [sic] the crime, arrested.
—Scott Nover, TIME, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sic
Cite this Entry
“Sic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sic. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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