sickly

[sik-lee] / ˈsɪk li /

ADJECTIVE

not healthy

Synonyms

STRONGEST

ailing cranky feeble infirm lackluster

WEAK

below par bilious delicate diseased down dragging faint in poor health indisposed laid low languid low mean off-color out of action out of shape pallid peaked peaky pining poorly rocky run down seedy sickish unhealthy wan weak

Antonyms

STRONGEST

healthy hearty sound strong

WEAK

fine well

ADJECTIVE

revolting

Synonyms

STRONGEST

morose

WEAK

bilious cloying insalubrious mawkish morbid nauseating noisome noxious sick unwholesome

Antonyms

WEAK

fine nice wholesome

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Born coughing, Patti Smith was a sickly kid.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025

Smith was a sickly child, contracting bronchial pneumonia, tuberculosis, German measles, mumps and chicken pox which kept her in "periods of lengthy bed rest".

From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025

Even before ICE got him, he had been sickly.

From Slate • Oct. 27, 2025

Esteemed horror veteran Mike Flanagan is an executive producer and you can sense Stuckmann grabbing aimlessly in the last third for the kind of sickly visual elegance that is Flanagan’s deliberative style.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2025

Her long, white hair was matted and had a sickly yellowish tint.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

Vocabulary lists containing sickly

Feeling Faint: Synonyms for "Weak"

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sickly

Example Sentences

Related Words

Vocabulary lists containing sickly

Feeling Faint: Synonyms for "Weak"