1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

sicken

verb

ˈsi-kən How to pronounce sicken (audio)
Definition of sickennext
as in to disgust
to cause to feel disgust sickened by the awful sight of the polluted river

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sicken The toxic carcinogen known as 9/11 dust has sickened or killed more people in the 25 years since 9/11 than the number of people killed on that dark day. — Jennifer McLogan, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026 In July, Taylor Farms de Mexico recalled all iceberg lettuce sourced in Mexico from 27 states following a cyclospora outbreak that has sickened 18,445 people since the beginning of May. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 4 Sep. 2026 Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus, leading to algae blooms that can kill fish and sicken people. — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 4 Sep. 2026 Pet food manufactured by a West Coast company could sicken people as well as animals, federal officials say. — Julia Hawkins, Sacbee.com, 2 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sicken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sicken
  1. disgust
  2. repulse
  3. appall
  4. nauseate
  5. horrify
Verb
  • Most certainly disgust, on a profound level, for the current Israeli regime and its prime minister, Bibi Netanyahu.
    — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Decent law-abiding Israelis living in Judea/Samaria are also disgusted by behavior of the few who violate civil law & Torah by violence & lawlessness.
    — Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of disgust
Verb
  • His recent comments didn’t favor the Browns fanbase, and many Cleveland fans seem viscerally repulsed by him.
    — Andy Behrens, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Most Americans are repulsed by the core ideas of radical leftists.
    — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of repulse
Verb
  • Mansur, who desperately longs to be reunited with his own mother, is appalled.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s ongoing satirical series at first appalled many viewers with its resolute political incorrectness and penchant for four-letter words from the mouths of babes, and that was nowhere more evident than in Cartman himself.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of appall
Verb
  • Some of their stomachs endure the nauseating exercise without producing vomit.
    — Anya Armentrout, Twin Cities, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The sound quality is scratchy; the camerawork is nauseating, and not in a chicly experimental way.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of nauseate
Verb
  • Siby turned on the television and watched, horrified, as smoke billowed from the Twin Towers.
    — Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Susan is appropriately horrified, but once her disgust passes, the now-exes share a tender moment.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of horrify

Phrases Containing sicken

Browse Nearby Words

sick bays
sicken
sickened
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sicken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sicken. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of elegiac

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All