sickly
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sickly¹
- /ˈsɪkli/
Rhymes with -ɪkli
Where it comes from
From Middle English seekly, sekely, siklich, sekeliche, equivalent to sick + -ly. Possibly a modification of Old English sīcle (“sickly”) and/or derived from Old Norse sjúkligr (“sickly”). Cognate with Dutch ziekelijk, Middle High German siechlich, Danish sygelig, Swedish sjuklig, Icelandic sjúklegur. The verb is from the adjective.
adjective sicklier · sickliest
-
Frequently ill or in poor health; weakly.
a sickly child
Similar: valetudinarian
- Not in good health; (somewhat) sick. Yes, bring me word, boy, if thy lord look well, For he went sickly forth:
- Characterized by poor or unhealthy growth. (of a plant) [...] the good wheat on this land had turned sickly and yellow.
- Appearing ill, infirm or unhealthy; giving the appearance of illness. a sickly pallor
- Shedding a relatively small amount of light; (of light) not very bright. The Moon grows sickly at the sight of day.
- Lacking intensity or vigour. a sickly smile
-
Associated with poor moral or mental well-being.
The slightest distress, whether real or fictitious, touched him to the quick, and his soul laboured under a sickly sensibility of the miseries of others.
Similar: unhealthy
-
Tending to produce nausea.
a sickly smell; sickly sentimentality
Similar: nauseating, sickening
-
Overly sweet.
[…] he was again tasting the sickly welter of melted ice cream on his plate.
Similar: cloying, saccharine
- Marked by the occurrence of illness or disease (of a period of time). This physic but prolongs thy sickly days.
-
Tending to produce disease or poor health.
a sickly autumn; a sickly climate
Similar: insalubrious, unhealthy, unwholesome
verb sicklies · sicklying · sicklied
- To make (something) sickly. Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
- To become sickly. 1889, Samuel Cox, An Expositor’s Notebook, London: Richard D. Dickinson, 7th edition, Chapter 26, p. 364, But the seven most prominent Apostles […] still hang together, their hearts tormented with eager yet sad questionings, their hopes fast sicklying over with the pale hues of doubt.
sickly²
- /ˈsɪkli/
Rhymes with -ɪkli
Where it comes from
From sick + -ly.
adverb more sickly · most sickly
- In a sick manner; in a way that reflects or causes sickness. sickly pale; to cough sickly
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: sick, unwell, indisposed, ailing, sallow, unhealthy, ill, poorly, peaked, insane, anemic, infirm, diseased, debilitated, frail, feeble
Translations
Every language
adj frequently ill
| Español | enfermizo, enclenque, calamitoso, enteco, achacoso, valetudinario |
|---|---|
| Português | enfermiço, doentio, valetudinário |
| Français | maladif, souffreteux, chétif, valétudinaire |
| Deutsch | kränklich, kränkelnd, siech, dahinsiechend |
| Română | bolnăvicios |
| Русский | боле́зненный boléznennyj |
| Tiếng Việt | èo uột |
| العربية | مِسْقَام misqām |
adj appearing ill
| Español | enfermizo |
|---|---|
| Português | enfermiço, doentio |
| Deutsch | blass, fahl, kränklich, unwohl, welk, ungesund |
| Русский | ча́хлый čáxlyj |
adj lacking intensity or vigour
| Español | débil, triste |
|---|---|
| Português | débil |
| Deutsch | schwächlich, fahl, schwach, matt, blass, ungesund |
| Română | bolnăvicios, slab |
adj overly sweet
| Español | empalagoso, dulzón |
|---|---|
| Français | douçâtre, douceâtre |
| Deutsch | übersüß |
Talk about this word "sickly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sickly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. sickly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sickly "sickly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sickly.Cite this
@misc{sickly_2026,
title = {sickly},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sickly},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
