sick

sick

sick¹ [sik]

adj.

[ME sik, seke < OE seoc, akin to Ger siech < IE base * seug-, to be troubled or grieved > Arm hiucanim, (I) am weakening]

1. suffering from disease or illness; unwell; ill: in this sense, now rare or literary in England

2. having nausea; vomiting or about to vomit: the predominant sense in England

3. characteristic of or accompanying sickness [a sick expression]

4. of or for sick people [sick leave]

5. deeply disturbed or distressed; extremely upset, as by grief, disappointment, disgust, failure, etc.

6. disgusted by reason of excess; annoyed or exasperated: usually with of [sick of such excuses]: often sick and tired

7. in poor condition; impaired; unsound

8. having a great longing or nostalgia (for) [sick for the hills]

9. of sickly color; pale

10. having a discharge of the menses; menstruating

11. mentally ill or emotionally disturbed

12. Informal sadistic, morbid, or abnormally unwholesome [a sick joke ]

☆ 13. Agric.

a) incapable of producing an adequate yield of a certain crop [wheatsick soil]

b) infested with harmful microorganisms [a sick field]

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the sick

sick or ill people collectively

SYN.- SICK¹ and ILL¹ both express the idea of being in bad health, affected with disease, etc. (for differences in American and British usage, see definition above), but SICK¹ is more commonly used than ILL¹, which is somewhat formal [he's a sick person; he is sick, or ill, with the flu ]; AILING usually suggests prolonged or even chronic poor health [she has been ailing ever since her operation ]; INDISPOSED suggests a slight, temporary illness or feeling of physical discomfort [indisposed with a headache ] –ANT. WELL¹, HEALTHY

sick² [sik]

vt.

alt. sp. of SIC²