sicken

American  

[sik-uhn] / ˈsɪk ən /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make or become sick.

2. to cause or experience disgust, outrage, or loathing.

   Synonyms:

   upset, outrage, disgust, revolt, repulse

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sicken British  

/ ˈsɪkən /

verb

1. to make or become sick, nauseated, or disgusted

2. to show symptoms (of an illness)

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Other Word Forms

• resicken verb
• unsickened adjective

Etymology

Origin of sicken

1150–1200; Middle English seknen, sicnen; cognate with Old Norse sjūkna. See sick ¹, -en ¹

Explanation

Things that sicken you make you feel upset or ill. It might sicken you to realize that you've hit a squirrel with your car. When things sicken you, they either make you feel terrible — disgusted or horrified — or they make you physically sick. Eating a piece of moldy bread or some potato salad that's been sitting in the sun too long will probably sicken you. Reading a story about childhood hunger and poverty in the newspaper can also sicken you. The earliest meaning of sicken was "fall ill," from an Old English root, seoc, "ill, diseased, weak, or troubled."

Example Sentences

The problem with this line is that unvaccinated children can sicken infants and immuno-compromised children who can’t be inoculated, leaving some disabled or worse.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

Microplastics, along with ultra-tiny nanoplastics, can kill or severely sicken marine life before entering the food web and ultimately ending up on our plates.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

Scotland driving at Greece's heart in a bid to sicken them again after sickening them at Hampden earlier in the group.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2025

One legacy we don’t hear anything about in Turning Point is how the war continues to kill, maim, and sicken the Vietnamese people.

From Slate • Apr. 30, 2025

If you were to sicken or die, I should be desolate.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

Related Words

• affect
• afflict
• disgust
• nauseate
• offend
• repel
• repulse