nausea

American  

[naw-zee-uh, -zhuh, -see-uh, -shuh] / ˈnɔ zi ə, -ʒə, -si ə, -ʃə /

noun

nauseas plural

1. a feeling of sickness in the stomach, especially when accompanied by a loathing for food and an involuntary impulse to vomit.

2. extreme disgust; loathing; repugnance.

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nausea British  

/ -sɪə, ˈnɔːzɪə /

noun

1. the sensation that precedes vomiting

2. a feeling of disgust or revulsion

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nausea Scientific  

/ nô′zē-ə,-zhə /

1. A symptom characterized by gastrointestinal distress and an urge to vomit.

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Usage

What does nausea mean? Nausea is a feeling of sickness in your stomach, as if you might vomit. People can experience nausea from food that has upset their stomach, from the side effects of medications, or from a number of other conditions that affect the stomach, such as seasickness, motion sickness, morning sickness, carsickness, and anxiety. To have nausea is to feel nauseous or nauseated. To nauseate is to cause nausea. Things that cause nausea can be described as nauseating (or, less commonly, nauseous). The word nausea can also be used in a figurative way meaning a feeling of disgust, revulsion, or repulsion, as in I felt a sense of nausea wash over me when witnessing their cruelty.  Example: If you feel nausea coming on, try lying down and breathing through your nose.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• nauseas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of nausea

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin nausea, nausia, from unattested Greek nausíā (Ionic nausíē ) “seasickness,” derivative of naûs “ship”; see -ia

Explanation

When you feel like you might throw up, that's nausea. I know you're feeling sea sick, but if our boat sinks, nausea will be the least of your problems. Nausea gets its root from the Greek word for ship, naus, so it might have originally meant sea sickness in particular. Remembering this origin might help you spell nausea correctly too, since it ends with “sea.” But nausea can strike on dry land just as well, from eating the wrong thing, catching the flu, reading on a moving bus...just thinking of it all makes me sick to my stomach.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nausea nauseas

In 2017, the US government pulled more than half of its staff from its embassy in Havana after employees and their families reported dizziness, nausea and difficulty concentrating.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

GLP-1 drugs can cause gastrointestinal side-effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026

Brick workers often fall ill with fever, nausea and vomiting in the summer months, cutting into their earnings, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

The teen who brought the claim said he remained ill for weeks after the incident, suffering from regular nausea and body weakness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Throw in a little terror, a little nausea, and a little Holy moly, how am I going to survive this, and you’re halfway there.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

Hanna said: "She often produces flu-like symptoms with a runny nose and cough and often when the phlegm releases itself in a cough she feels nauseas and vomits."

From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2024

Persis was learning wherein wealth, as well as poverty, has its poverties, its nauseas, its petty annoyances, its daily denials, its hair-cloth shirts.

From What Will People Say? A novel by Hughes, Rupert

For some days past she had been subject to violent nauseas and acute pains, and as she bade him goodbye out of the railway-carriage window, she had to bend and press herself against it.

From A Mummer's Wife by Moore, George (George Augustus)

They were also the incarnated nauseas and despairs of Basine.

From Gargoyles by Hecht, Ben

Related Words

• airsickness
• biliousness
• car sickness
• mal de mer
• motion sickness
• nauseousness
• qualms
• queasiness
• regurgitation
• retching
• seasickness
• sickness
• squeamishness
• vomiting