as in disgusting
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment
a sickening display of emotion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in appalling
to cause to feel disgust
sickened by the awful sight of the polluted river
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sickening
Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 15 Apr. 2026
In a sickening moment broadcast live after Boyes’s shot missed, Long moved quickly about, shooting many hostages.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 3 Apr. 2026
Liz Szabo, NBC news, 25 Oct. 2025
The illness spreads through the tribe, sickening one of its leaders and creating division and disorder.
—Maggie Doherty, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sickening
Adjective
Andi's heart gave a single, sickening jolt that emptied her lungs.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 15 Apr. 2026
In a sickening moment broadcast live after Boyes’s shot missed, Long moved quickly about, shooting many hostages.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 3 Apr. 2026
Verb
Flu season was particularly brutal last year, sickening at least 47 million Americans, hospitalizing 610,000 and killing 27,000, according to the CDC.
—Liz Szabo, NBC news, 25 Oct. 2025
The illness spreads through the tribe, sickening one of its leaders and creating division and disorder.
—Maggie Doherty, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sickening
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sickening
Adjective
-
How on Earth could this Wild team, after dominating the first period and taking a 3-0 lead with a chance to keep its season alive and force a Game 6, collapse in such an absolutely disgusting fashion?—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
14 May 2026
-
Just days ago, the CDC announced that over 100 passengers and more than a dozen crew members on a different ship, the Caribbean Princess, have been infected by norovirus—a less fatal but more disgusting illness.—
Hillary Busis,
Vanity Fair,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
The young Forster recoiled from the school’s culture of authoritarianism and militaristic chauvinism, which may have found expression in the students’ often appalling attitudes toward their own mothers.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
-
Of all the recent poster boys for appalling misbehavior by the State Police, Michael Proctor would of course rank number one.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
4 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Which is horrible, just that amount of women being murdered.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
17 May 2026
-
Hmmm, a book about climate change, economic hardship, labor shortages, rising food prices, and a family having a horrible time?—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
While there are dismemberments and other bits of gruesome violence to be found in the film, Badlands is largely aimed at endearing its audience rather than repulsing them.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Gray has been good at home, a more reliable starter, and Painter has been awful overall.—
David Troy OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
13 May 2026
-
There was a sense of an extraordinary person and so many extraordinary people doing quite awful things throughout the year.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
Verb
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In the years since Boogie Nights, Leo has made an unlikely hit out of The Man in the Iron Mask, then took the role of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, showing off his range and turning that surreal and often horrifying movie into another $100 million feather in his cap.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The visage, created by Universal Studio’s then-lead makeup artist Jack Pierce for the 1931 film, was horrifying enough that its influence endured for almost 100 years.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
McGregor first fought at welterweight in 2016 in a shocking loss to Diaz, then defeated Diaz later that year, again in the 170-pound division.—
Mark Puleo,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
But at the center of it all is Navarrette, whose fearless turn grounds the film’s shocking premise in something both heartbreaking and haunting.—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
Last year, the two teams met in London in an ugly 13-11 Denver win.—
Antwan Staley,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
-
With respect to humor’s inherent subjectivity, the appallingly ugly aesthetics of the AI overwhelm any possible comedic sensibility on display.—
Vikram Murthi,
IndieWire,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sickening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sickening. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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