Sicken

Sicken is a verb used to describe causing someone to become ill or to feel ill oneself. It can also mean to provoke a strong sense of disgust or revulsion. In clinical or everyday language, one might say that a disease or poison sickened people, or that a person was sickened by bad news or by a disturbing sight.

Etymology traces the word to the adjective sick, with the common English verb-forming suffix -en. The term first appears in Middle English, originally conveying the sense of causing illness; over time it also developed the intransitive use, meaning to become ill, or to feel great disgust. The word has both literal and figurative applications in historical and literary contexts.

Usage and notes: as a transitive verb, sicken takes a direct object (The toxin sickened the crew; The disease sickened thousands). Intransitively, it means to become ill (Many grew sickened during the outbreak) or to feel strong revulsion (She was sickened by the cruelty). The past tense is sickened, and the present participle is sickening. In modern clinical language, more precise terms such as cause illness or provoke nausea are typically preferred, but sicken remains common in literary, journalistic, and historical writing. The noun form sickness is related but distinct as a state of being ill.

See also: sickness; sick; nauseous; nausea; disease.