Nauseous

ˈnɔːziəs

adjectiveBeginnerCommonGeneral

Definitions

2 meanings
1

Affected with nausea; feeling sick.

ˈnɔːziəs

adjectivenegativeBeginner
General

Feeling sick to your stomach; experiencing nausea.

The rollercoaster made me feel nauseous.

💡 Simply: Feeling like you're going to throw up, like when you're on a roller coaster or smell something really bad. For instance, if you feel icky in your tummy, you're nauseous.

👶 For kids: Feeling like your tummy wants to throw up.

More Examples

2

She became nauseous from the strong fumes.

3

I felt nauseous after eating too much cake.

How It's Used

Medical

"The patient felt nauseous after the chemotherapy treatment."

General

"The smell of the garbage made me feel nauseous."

2

Causing or tending to cause nausea.

ˈnɔːziəs

adjectivenegativemedium
General

Causing nausea.

The nauseous fumes from the factory made the residents sick.

💡 Simply: Something that makes you feel like you're going to throw up, like a really bad smell or something you ate that didn't agree with you. For example, that nauseous smell made everyone leave the room.

👶 For kids: Something that makes you feel like you want to throw up.

More Examples

2

The nauseous taste of the medicine made it hard to swallow.

3

A nauseous odor filled the air.

How It's Used

Medical

"The nauseous medication had to be taken with food."

General

"The nauseous odor filled the entire room."

Tip:Think of the nauseous smell leading to the feeling.

Idioms & expressions

feel nauseous

To experience nausea.

"I started to feel nauseous on the boat."

nauseous smell

A bad smell that causes nausea.

"The nauseous smell coming from the trash can was terrible."

From Latin *nausea* ('seasickness'), influenced by the suffix -ous, indicating a state or quality.

The word 'nauseous' has been used since the early 17th century, originally referring to causing nausea, with the meaning 'affected with nausea' evolving later.

Memory tip

Imagine 'nose' and 'seasickness.' If your nose is seasick, you're nauseous!

naciousnaucous

Usage

40%Spoken
60%Written