as in sick
temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body
her mother announced that she still looked peaky, and felt her forehead for a fever
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Recent Examples of peaky
The curveball in all this is Verstappen, whose Red Bull future has become a significant talking point once again amid the team’s difficulties with a peaky car that will surely test his championship defense.
—
Luke Smith, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
In reality, though, because the TCL’s tone mapping is not as effective as that of the Samsung TV, the TCL’s brightness can cause clipping and leave the image looking ‘peaky’ and unbalanced.
—John Archer, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
Local surf guides will take wave riders to fun, peaky beach breaks or barreling reefs.
—Noah Lederman, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2024
Photo : The Hover Bureau The one-bedroom, two-bath guesthouse has a living room clad in peaky cypress paneling.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 6 Mar. 2025
Local surf guides will take wave riders to fun, peaky beach breaks or barreling reefs.
—Noah Lederman, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2024
The powerband was peaky, with the turbos coming alive above 2500 rpm, accompanied by a distinct whistle.
—Brett Berk, Car and Driver, 4 Sep. 2023
The buzzy and peaky four-cylinder isn't a good match for the eight-speed automatic transmission, which is reluctant to downshift.
—Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 4 Aug. 2023
Moreover, although the power peaks are identical in both engines, the SE motor's much lower torque peak represents a considerable flattening of the rotary's traditionally peaky torque curve.
—Csaba Csere, Car and Driver, 1 Feb. 2023
Luke Smith, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
In reality, though, because the TCL’s tone mapping is not as effective as that of the Samsung TV, the TCL’s brightness can cause clipping and leave the image looking ‘peaky’ and unbalanced.
—John Archer, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
Local surf guides will take wave riders to fun, peaky beach breaks or barreling reefs.
—Noah Lederman, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2024
Photo : The Hover Bureau The one-bedroom, two-bath guesthouse has a living room clad in peaky cypress paneling.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 6 Mar. 2025
Local surf guides will take wave riders to fun, peaky beach breaks or barreling reefs.
—Noah Lederman, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2024
The powerband was peaky, with the turbos coming alive above 2500 rpm, accompanied by a distinct whistle.
—Brett Berk, Car and Driver, 4 Sep. 2023
The buzzy and peaky four-cylinder isn't a good match for the eight-speed automatic transmission, which is reluctant to downshift.
—Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 4 Aug. 2023
Moreover, although the power peaks are identical in both engines, the SE motor's much lower torque peak represents a considerable flattening of the rotary's traditionally peaky torque curve.
—Csaba Csere, Car and Driver, 1 Feb. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peaky
Adjective
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About 1 out of every 10 people who get sick with Legionnaires' disease may die because of complications from the illness.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
22 Aug. 2025
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In Texas’s outbreak, which began in January in a largely unvaccinated population in Gaines County in West Texas, at least 762 people became sick, including the two children who died.—
Lauren J. Young,
Scientific American,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The researchers and their partners are also working to track local residents’ health and to measure how well or poorly interventions like masks and household air filters protected them.—
Maggie Astor,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
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Both the United States and the United Nations have stepped back from leadership roles, a reflection of how poorly interventions in Haiti have gone and also the wide range of issues in other parts of the world at the moment.—
Adam Taylor,
Washington Post,
7 Mar. 2024
Adjective
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Drinking rates fell across every demographic and young people were most likely to believe drinking is bad for your health.—
Martin K.N Siele,
semafor.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Not bad for a company built on the back of a $40 plastic-cased watch!—
Oren Hartov,
Robb Report,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The children became ill after eating gummies laced with THC, a compound found in cannabis that is known for causing a high or euphoric effect.—
Alexandra Koch , Jennifer Johnson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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About 1 in 5 people with this infection die, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Slayton got this contract despite having a down year offensively, which was likely due to the Giants having the 28th-best passing offense in 2024, which saw three separate quarterbacks start a game.—
Tyler Small,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
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The Dolphins are looking to bounce back from a down year during the 2024-25 season.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Peaky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peaky. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.
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