sickly

Meaning

Adj

1. Frequently ill or in poor health; weakly.
2. Not in good health; (somewhat) sick.
3. Characterized by poor or unhealthy growth. (of a plant)
4. Appearing ill, infirm or unhealthy; giving the appearance of illness.
5. Shedding a relatively small amount of light; (of light) not very bright.
6. Lacking intensity or vigour.
7. Associated with poor moral or mental well-being.
8. Tending to produce nausea.
9. Overly sweet.
10. (obsolete) Marked by the occurrence of illness or disease (of a period of time).
11. (obsolete) Tending to produce disease or poor health.

Verb

1. (archaic, literary, transitive) To make (something) sickly.
2. (intransitive, rare) To become sickly.

Adv

In a sick manner; in a way that reflects or causes sickness.

Synonyms

weak

ailing

feeble

frail

unhealthy

sick

🤢

delicate

puny

infirm

ill

🤢

diseased

weakly

valetudinarian

peaked

poorly

morbid

emaciated

decrepit

sallow

lean

indisposed

unwell

under the weather

seedy

in poor health

soapy

sore

sticky

stunted

sugary

tiny

undisturbed

unsound

vulnerable

wan

waxen

waxy

weakened

weedy

withered

delicate constitution

valetudinary

lean and weak

thin and feeble

wearish

unhealthy-looking

out-of-sorts

bitter

breakable

bruising

Translations

enfermizo

kränklich

débil

maladif

hastalıklı

schwächlich

malaticcio

achacoso

malaltís

debole

enfermo

🤢

enclenque

malsain

schwach

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈsɪkli/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: seekly

Cognate with Dutch: ziekelijk

Cognate with Middle High German: siechlich

Cognate with Danish: sygelig

Cognate with Swedish: sjuklig

Cognate with Icelandic: sjúklegur

In summary

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.

Sentences

Sickly as a child , the desert air helped Kono's asthma .