sickness

UK/ˈsɪknɪs/US/ˈsɪknɪs/

nounB1Common in everyday speech and writing · #2,845 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: sicknesses

Sickness is the state of being unwell. Off with sickness, morning sickness, sickness and health.

British and American usage part here: in Britain sick usually means vomiting and ill means unwell, where in America sick covers both. Motion sickness comes from a mismatch between what the eyes see and what the inner ear feels.

Definitions of sickness

1nounsicknessThe state of being unwell.B1
“The sickness spread quickly through the school, and many pupils stayed at home.”

sickness is a state of health.

Where it comes from

Old English seocnes is sick plus -ness, from seoc, ill.

Old English
sēocnes
Middle English
sikness
English, today
sickness

Middle English sikness, from Old English sēocnes, sēocness, sēocnys, sēocnyss. by surface analysis, sick + -ness.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

sickness in the wild

Motion sickness occurs due to a difference between actual and expected motion.
Motion sickness
Many people can be affected with sufficient motion and nearly everyone will experience motion sickness at least once in their lifetime.
Motion sickness
Chronic mountain sickness may occur after long-term exposure to high altitude.
Altitude sickness
Altitude sickness typically occurs only above 2,500 metres, though some people are affected at lower altitudes.
Altitude sickness
Morning sickness, also called nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP), is a symptom of pregnancy.
Morning sickness

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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