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. — cost
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
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. — cost
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. — Esperantostern
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.
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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