SICKNESS Synonyms: 102 Similar and Opposite Words

sickness

noun

ˈsik-nəs

Definition of sickness

as in illness

the condition of not being in good health she was plagued by sickness most of her adult life

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in disease

an abnormal state that disrupts a plant or animal's normal bodily functioning a sickness that resulted in the death of millions of the nation's elm trees

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in nausea

a disturbed condition of the stomach in which one feels like vomiting the sickness that many women feel during the early months of a pregnancy

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 sickness But one legal battle over lifesaving care drew attention in the 1960s, as sickness made its way through a Followers family in a Boise suburb. — Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 26 Aug. 2026 Visiting different checkpoints meant my sickness excuse worked on each of them. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026 Engineers need to cure the sickness, as applying bandages to the wound just isn’t working. — Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026 Across social media, travelers this summer have been opening up about stories of rocky crossings, ill passengers and crews handing out sickness bags. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 16 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sickness

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sickness

Noun

As a result, more people have now died of environmental illnesses that followed the September 11 attacks than perished during the collapse of the towers that day.

— Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
About 80% of infected people develop no symptoms, while most others experience a mild flu-like illness.

— Giada Zampano, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of illness

Noun

Scientists see a troubling trend but are still investigating how the disease develops.

— Alexandra Pattillo, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2026
The report said there was no evidence of a fatal injury or organic disease, though investigators could not determine how Wells suffered the bruise.

— Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of disease

Noun

Typical symptoms are a high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle, bone or joint pain, nausea and vomiting, swollen glands, and skin rash.

— Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026
Adjust workouts by reducing intensity or duration if fatigue or nausea from GLP-1 medications makes exercise difficult.

— Kristen Gasnick, Verywell Health, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of nausea

Noun

In determining whether to reimburse treatment for such ailments, insurers turn to Food and Drug Administration labels and expert guidelines.

— Arthur Allen, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
Eleven gullible idiots were talked into acquitting because of an imaginary female ailment.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of ailment

Noun

In this framework, the cure for the party’s ills can only come from inside the party, not from any external force.

— ANDREW MERTHA, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026
Football cannot be expected to answer societal ills, but this is the sort of area in which the club’s foundation does its invaluable outreach work, a place touched by those statistics about deprivation and crime.

— Michael Walker, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of ill

Noun

But about 1 in 20 patients progress to severe dengue, a life-threatening turn that tends to strike just as the fever breaks – often around days three to seven, when patients and their families may wrongly assume the worst is over.

— Andrés Henao, CNN Money, 21 Sep. 2026
Symptoms remain wide-ranging, including fever, congestion, fatigue and gastrointestinal issues, with severe symptoms lasting up to a week, Guest says.

— Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of fever

Browse Nearby Words

sickly

sickness

sicknesses

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Style

“Sickness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sickness. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of sickness

noun

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