1
as in sick
temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body
the sickened passengers were rushed to the emergency room for treatment
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shocked
filled with disgust
many audience members, sickened by the movie's graphic violence, walked out of the theater before the end
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in disgusted
to cause to feel disgust
sickened by the awful sight of the polluted river
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 sickened
Melina Khan, USA Today, 13 May 2026
Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026
Over the course of May 9 and 10, scientists at the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory worked around the clock to develop a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for Andes hantavirus, which has sickened at least 10 and killed three people who sailed on board the MV Hondius.
—Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 18 May 2026
More than a quarter of those sickened are children under 5 years old, the CDC says.
—CBS News, 18 May 2026
The outbreak has killed three people and sickened 10 since it was first identified aboard the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius during its monthlong voyage in early May.
—Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 17 May 2026
The Illinois Department of Public Health and the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service are investigating a listeria outbreak that has sickened at least three Illinois residents.
—James Powel, USA Today, 12 May 2026
Another brand of pet food sold exclusively at farmers markets in California tested positive for bird flu and is believed to have sickened five cats nearly a week after a similar incident was reported in Oregon.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2025
When the six travelers sickened there last fall and later died, the town made international news.
—Christine Chung, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025
And in Hawaii, the virus caused a popular hiking spot to close after dozens of campers were sickened with the virus.
—Cara Lynn Shultz, People.com, 30 Dec. 2024
Adjective
The woman is now being treated with an artificial lung, a doctor at the Paris hospital caring for the sickened passenger said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press and France 24.
—Melina Khan, USA Today, 13 May 2026
Verb
At least three people linked to the outbreak aboard the ship have died, while additional passengers have been sickened, according to the World Health Organization.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026
Over the course of May 9 and 10, scientists at the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory worked around the clock to develop a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for Andes hantavirus, which has sickened at least 10 and killed three people who sailed on board the MV Hondius.
—Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 18 May 2026
More than a quarter of those sickened are children under 5 years old, the CDC says.
—CBS News, 18 May 2026
The outbreak has killed three people and sickened 10 since it was first identified aboard the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius during its monthlong voyage in early May.
—Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 17 May 2026
The Illinois Department of Public Health and the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service are investigating a listeria outbreak that has sickened at least three Illinois residents.
—James Powel, USA Today, 12 May 2026
Another brand of pet food sold exclusively at farmers markets in California tested positive for bird flu and is believed to have sickened five cats nearly a week after a similar incident was reported in Oregon.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2025
When the six travelers sickened there last fall and later died, the town made international news.
—Christine Chung, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025
And in Hawaii, the virus caused a popular hiking spot to close after dozens of campers were sickened with the virus.
—Cara Lynn Shultz, People.com, 30 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sickened
Adjective
-
That night, both the President and his wife periodically fled upstairs to check on their most beloved son, the eleven-year-old Willie, sick with a fever that would kill him two weeks later.—
Thomas Mallon,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
What this narrative neglects are all the ways treatment might cause terrible side effects, or the long period one spends being sick, and how one’s identity may have changed in the interim.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
The teaser trailer opens with Cooke and Lindsay Hubbard giving their shocked reactions to Batula and Wilson’s public statement about their romance, which came in March after cameras stopped rolling on the 10th season, which airs its finale tonight.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
19 May 2026
-
Most people are genuinely shocked by what comes back.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Even the consciousness on the back of her head is disgusted with her, but hey, Ashley has always been her own worst critic.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
13 May 2026
-
The researchers also found that being young, female, and well educated increased the odds that someone would be moist averse, as did being disgusted more generally by bodily functions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
West Ham showed themselves to be a bad team, less than the sum of their parts and wholly ill-equipped for the challenge in front of them.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
-
Each reiteration and exaggeration of Mary’s bad behavior is another civic stroke of the chisel that perfects the monumental Lincoln in our collective imagination.—
Thomas Mallon,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Firstman’s debut directorial effort, Club Kid, shrewdly acknowledges those garish personality tics, which have both endeared and repulsed audiences.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
-
Anyone who has worked in or observed the media industry for the last couple of decades will recognize and be repulsed by nepo-baby Jay, who is undeniably villainous.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This fragmented model creates friction and quietly drains profitability through unbilled hours, margin erosion from poorly staffed projects and elevated turnover when top talent hits operational roadblocks.—
DJ Paoni,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
For however poorly things are going — and the bad tone set by the starters has leaked into some defensive lapses and some pressing at the plate — the Padres got themselves into a really favorable position before this.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Twain was by turns amused and appalled by the histrionics that taint our tellings of history, and by the yawning gaps between myth and reality.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
Hiram Crombie is shocked and appalled that Jamie is taking the Trading Post from him and kicking him and the other men off Fraser’s Ridge?—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Ava is horrified by Deborah’s willingness to make the deal.—
Caroline Framke,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
-
Black passengers and Black citizens were horrified by the measures railroad officials were willing to employ to maintain Jim Crow.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sickened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sickened. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
