SICKLY Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

sickly

adjective

ˈsi-klē

Definition of sickly

as in frail

chronically or repeatedly suffering from poor health a sickly foal that seemed to catch everything that the other horses had

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in poisonous

bad for the well-being of the body lungs scarred by years of exposure to the sickly air of the coal mines

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 sickly In the heyday of her career, her choppy hair, flat chest, sickly pallor and large darting eyes were a manic pixie dream. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026 The 2019 post on the notorious image board’s /x/ forum included a disquieting photo of an empty hallway bathed in sickly light. — Miles Klee, Wired News, 30 May 2026 First, the spots appear, then leaves yellow and fall off the plant, and your rose bush turns into a sickly collection of sticks with no flower buds in sight. — Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 May 2026 If your once-vigorous plant is starting to look sickly, spider mites may be the culprits. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 19 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for sickly

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sickly

Adjective

As tensions rise and boundaries begin to blur, their grandmother’s frail presence takes on an increasingly disturbing quality, turning a once-idyllic summer into a haunting passage into adulthood.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
Castro looked frail and thinner In his traditional olive-green fatigues, but was seen walking, standing and talking.

— Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of frail

Adjective

Spanish bluebells contain saponins, which smell and taste like soap, as well as poisonous cardiac glycosides.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
As Anna covers for Fyodor’s addiction and increasingly unstable professional behavior, her devotion starts to look poisonous for them both.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of poisonous

Adjective

Indonesia’s blackouts in mid-2026, in part triggered by the events in the Middle East, demonstrated how fragile the region’s energy security is.

— Brian Wong, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2026
And ultimately, asked to prove themselves all over again to keep their often-fragile NFL dreams alive.

— Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of fragile

Adjective

But the heart of this story is the toxic years-long romance between Marjorie and her co-conspirator Bill Rothstein (David Harbour), an equally cunning player who was blinded by love.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
The company says these materials are abundant and non-toxic, potentially avoiding some of the cost, safety, and supply challenges associated with conventional battery chemistries.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 12 Sep. 2026

Definition of toxic

Adjective

As the years go by, babies are born, parents get sick and die, careers are started then ended, wives and husbands are thwarted, and, eventually, sheets are strewn and booties are tapped.

— Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026
Last August, more than 360 people recently got sick after eating free MBG school lunches in Sragen, Central Java.

— Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of sick

Adjective

Warnings of unhealthful air quality remained in effect Saturday across a wide swath of the United States due to smoke from Canadian wildfires that has engulfed the Northeast in haze for days.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2026
The soil may contain pathogens, pesticides and other unhealthful things.

— Joan Morris, Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2026

Definition of unhealthful

Adjective

Ferries are a common method of travel and accidents occur regularly, in part due to weak enforcement of safety standards.

— IMAN SATRIA, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
This time a year ago, a weak La Niña — El Niño’s cool counterpart — was in place, and only a handful of other years have had such a rapid flip to a potent El Niño, including the strongest ever event from 1982 to 1983.

— Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of weak

Adjective

The advisory warned that significant rainfall since Saturday was expected to produce runoff from storm drains and rivers and create unhealthy conditions for swimmers.

— ABC News, ABC News, 6 Sep. 2026
Reminiscent of the discussions around Michael Jackson’s upbringing, this Lanterns episode has sparked specific conversations about parenting Black boys and children into greatness, and what actions constitute abusive or unhealthy parenting.

— Ronda Racha Penrice, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of unhealthy

Browse Nearby Words

sickliness

sickly

sickness

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“Sickly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sickly. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of sickly

adjective

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