sicken

verb

sick·​en ˈsi-kən 

sickened; sickening ˈsi-kə-niŋ 

ˈsik-niŋ

intransitive verb

1

: to become sick

2

: to become weary or satiated

transitive verb

1

: to make sick

2

: to cause revulsion in

their prejudice sickens me

sickener

ˈsi-kə-nər 

ˈsik-nər

noun

Synonyms of sicken

• disgust
• repulse
• appall
• nauseate
• horrify

Examples of sicken in a Sentence

Many people sickened and died on the long voyage.

The bacteria in the drinking water sickened the whole village.

We were sickened by the reports of violence.

Recent Examples on the Web

An outbreak of mushroom poisoning that left one person dead and sickened 20 others has prompted an advisory from the California Département of Public Health (CDPH) warning foragers in the Golden State about the risk of consuming wild mushrooms. —Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2025

The most recent outbreak occurred during a sailing on Oceania Cruises’ Insignia ship in October, during which more than 70 people were sickened on the 11-day voyage. —Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 6 Dec. 2025

All ByHeart baby formula possibly tainted Tests of ByHeart infant formula tied to a botulism outbreak that has sickened dozens of babies showed that all of the company's products may have been contaminated. —Arkansas Online, 26 Nov. 2025

But parents have reported that babies who drank the formula may have been sickened as early as December 2024. —Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 22 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing sicken

• sicken of

Rhymes for sicken

• chicken
• likin
• quicken
• stricken
• thicken
• indican

Kids Definition

sicken

verb

sick·​en ˈsik-ən 

sickened; sickening -(ə-)niŋ 

: to make or become sick

Medical Definition

sicken

transitive verb

sick·​en ˈsik-ən 

: to make sick

intransitive verb

: to become sick