sickly
Frequently ill or in poor healthFrequently ill or in poor health; weakly.
» My desire to become a doctor grew out of looking after my sickly brother.
Mein Wunsch, Arzt zu werden, entstand, als ich mich um meinen kränkelnden Bruder kümmerte.
Meaning
11 sensesFrequently ill or in poor health; weakly.
a sickly child
kränklich, fehlbar, kränkelnd
боле́зненныйboléznennyj
Not in good health; (somewhat) sick.
Characterized by poor or unhealthy growth. (of a plant)
unhealthy looking
Appearing ill, infirm or unhealthy; giving the appearance of illness.
a sickly pallor
blass, fahl, kränklich
ча́хлыйčáxlyj
somewhat ill or prone to illness
Shedding a relatively small amount of light; (of light) not very bright.
Lacking intensity or vigour.
a sickly smile
a sickly winter sun
schwächlich, fahl, schwach
Associated with poor moral or mental well-being.
Tending to produce nausea.
a sickly smell; sickly sentimentality
Overly sweet.
übersüß
(obsolete)Marked by the occurrence of illness or disease (of a period of time).
(obsolete)Tending to produce disease or poor health.
a sickly autumn; a sickly climate
Examples
11 sentencesMy desire to become a doctor grew out of looking after my sickly brother.
deMein Wunsch, Arzt zu werden, entstand, als ich mich um meinen kränkelnden Bruder kümmerte.
Yanni's skin was pale and sickly.
The liquor gave off a sickly odor.
Ziri was dating a sickly-looking girl.
Sho was 12 years old, sickly, and somewhat dull.
deSho war 12 Jahre alt, kränklich und etwas dumm.
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 4
Origin
From Middle English seekly, sekely, siklich, sekeliche, equivalent to sick + -ly. PossiblyFrom 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.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
sicklier, sickliestSynonyms
22 synonyms- unhealthy looking:sallow
- somewhat ill or prone to illness:ailingindisposedpeakedpoorlyunwellunder the weatherseedy
Word family
4 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form