sickness

noun

sick·​ness ˈsik-nəs How to pronounce sickness (audio)
1
a
: ill health : illness
b
: a disordered, weakened, or unsound condition
2
: a specific disease
3

Examples of sickness in a Sentence

He died from an unknown sickness. she was plagued by sickness most of her adult life
Recent Examples on the Web In 2023, Barca planned to play Juventus in the San Francisco 49ers' Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara only for that match to be cancelled because of a sickness outbreak among the squad. Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 The American counterpart to the Tsetse fly, which causes African sleeping sickness, kissing bugs bear a parasite from the same genus (Trypanosoma) in their feces. Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024 Key Takeaways Navigating a parent's sickness can be challenging for kids. Suzie Glassman, Parents, 20 Feb. 2024 Existing health conditions play a major role in how seriously any of these illnesses impact you, and the highest levels of concern are generally reserved for people with weaker immune systems to fight off sickness – namely, people with autoimmune conditions, older people and children. USA TODAY, 3 Feb. 2024 The notion of a sickness or infection seemed to explain better than anything else my unexpected pining for fire. M. R. O’Connor, The New Yorker, 29 Feb. 2024 The De Liefde was the only ship to reach Japan, its crew of more than 100 reduced to just 24 men by sickness and a lack of supplies. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Feb. 2024 When Ohio couple Josh and Lauren Adkins vowed to stand beside each other in sickness and in health neither could have imagined they’d both be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Susan Young, Peoplemag, 14 Feb. 2024 After enduring storms, sickness and a shipwreck, the surviving crew members of HMS Wager turn against one another. 2 THE CREATIVE ACT (Penguin, $32). Becky Meloan, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sickness.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of sickness was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near sickness

Cite this Entry

“Sickness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sickness. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sickness

noun
sick·​ness ˈsik-nəs How to pronounce sickness (audio)
1
: ill health : illness
2
: a specific disease : malady
3

Medical Definition

sickness

noun
sick·​ness ˈsik-nəs How to pronounce sickness (audio)
1
: the condition of being ill : ill health
2
: a specific disease
3
: nausea

More from Merriam-Webster on sickness

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