Sickening
ˈsɪkənɪŋ
Definitions
2 meaningsCausing feelings of physical disgust or nausea; extremely unpleasant or offensive.
ˈsɪkənɪŋ
Causing feelings of nausea or disgust.
The sickening smell of the garbage made me want to leave the room.
💡 Simply: Imagine something makes you feel really, really yucky in your stomach. Like, so gross you want to run away. That's sickening!
👶 For kids: When something makes you feel like you want to throw up because it's yucky.
More Examples
The movie had a sickening scene of violence that I couldn't watch.
She found the level of greed in the company's executives sickening.
How It's Used
"The smell of rotten eggs was sickening."
"The description of the battle was sickeningly graphic."
Causing strong feelings of disapproval, anger, or outrage; deeply upsetting.
ˈsɪkənɪŋ
Causing strong feelings of disapproval or anger; shocking or deplorable.
The cruelty of the bully’s actions was sickening.
💡 Simply: When something is so unfair or terrible that it makes you feel angry and disgusted – like it makes you want to say, 'Ugh! That’s sickening!'
👶 For kids: When something is super unfair or bad and makes you feel very upset.
More Examples
The lack of compassion in their response was sickening.
The amount of food wasted in the restaurant every night was sickening.
How It's Used
"The politician's blatant corruption was sickening to many voters."
"The injustice of the situation was sickening."
Synonyms
Disgusting
Offensive
Repulsive
Revolting
Appalling
Deplorable
Outrageous
Shocking
From Middle English 'siken', meaning 'to be ill' or 'to make sick,' with the suffix '-ing' indicating an ongoing action or state.
Historically, 'sickening' has been used consistently to describe things causing physical or emotional disgust. Its usage in literature and social commentary remains prevalent.
Memory tip
Think of a physical feeling of sickness that is also deeply unpleasant, like something you'd find disgusting.