nauseous

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (1)  · 
“
Vote YES on Santa Clara County Measure A This past week I have been feeling ill - nauseous, tired, run down.

View all »
Definitions (9)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. adjective Causing nausea; sickening: "the most nauseous offal fit for the gods” (John Fowles).
  2. adjective Usage Problem Affected with nausea.
  3. usage note
    Traditional critics have insisted that nauseous is properly used only to mean "causing nausea” and that it is incorrect to use it to mean "affected with nausea,” as in Roller coasters make me nauseous. In this example, nauseated is preferred by 72 percent of the Usage Panel. Curiously, though, 88 percent of the Panelists prefer using nauseating in the sentence The children looked a little green from too many candy apples and nauseating (not nauseous) rides. Since there is a lot of evidence to show that nauseous is widely used to mean "feeling sick,” it appears that people use nauseous mainly in the sense in which it is considered incorrect. In its "correct” sense it is being supplanted by nauseating.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (2)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • The oily slick on top was slightly nauseous, and I abruptly tipped it out, watched it soak into the trampled grass, and spoke in a rush of words I had not intended to say. —  The Beekeeper’s Apprentice - Laurie R. King - Russell-Holmes 01
  • Sea Girl grew nauseous, and wished the ride was over. —  The Dastard
  • The gas fumes were making her nauseous, the darkness gathering once more on the fringes of her mind. —  Gone by Lisa Gardner
  • The fumes combined with the heat to make me faintly nauseous, and my sinuses began to throb. —  dummy5
  • I feel nauseous, and only a whiff of ginger and allspice keeps me on my feet. —  AEonThree
More examples »
 

Tags

nauseous hasn't been tagged yet.

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 120 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. =Spanish Portuguese Italian nauseoso, from Latin nauseosus, that produces nausea, from nausea, seasickness: see nausea.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/ˈnɔsɪəs/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about once a month.

Recently looked up

criticizing · pubcos · Gwyn · juxtaposition · slid

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

rimshot · qualms · poofter · oh for heaven's sake · embodies