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

The trial over visitation and grandparents' rights began in October 2025 and has made headlines with Scott claiming his late wife's parents are largely responsible for his wife's death and for gross medical misconduct that sickened his daughter. —Juliet Pennington, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026

Those pelican numbers were very high because of a toxic algae bloom off Southern California that sickened the birds with domoic acid poisoning. —Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026

California imposed rigorous vaccination rules for measles following a 2014 outbreak linked to Disneyland that sickened 131 California residents, according to the California Department of Public Health. —Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 15 Apr. 2026

People all over the globe were in disbelief that a man could perpetuate a campaign of drugging and raping his wife without her knowledge, and even more sickened that dozens of men joined him in his crimes. —Glamour, 1 Apr. 2026

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