sick synonyms

sick

modif.

ill, ailing, unwell, disordered, diseased, feeble, weak, impaired, suffering, feverish, nauseous, nauseated, imperfect, sickly, declining, unhealthy, morbid, rabid, indisposed, distempered, infected, invalid, delicate, infirm, frail, rickety, broken down, physically run down, confined, laid up, coming down with, under medication, bedridden, in poor health, hospitalized, quarantined, incurable, on the blink*, out of kilter*, peaked*, feeling poorly*, sick as a dog*, seedy*, in a bad way*, not so hot*, at a low ebb*, under the weather*, down in the mouth*, looking green about the gills*.

Antonyms healthy*, hearty*, well.

sick and ill both express the idea of being in bad health, affected with disease, etc., but sick is more commonly used than ill, which is somewhat formal he's a sick person; he is sick, or ill, with the flu; in British usage sick generally means affected with nausea; ailing usually suggests prolonged or even chronic poor health she has been ailing ever since her operation; indisposed suggests a slight, temporary illness or feeling of physical discomfort indisposed with a headache

Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.