sickness
sicknesses
The condition of being unwell or having an illness is sickness. Your sickness during the month of November might mean you miss a lot of school.
A well-known, Christian version of wedding vows includes a promise to "have and to hold...in sickness and in health." This means the couple agrees to stay together and support each other whether they're healthy or ill. Some sickness is a chronic or permanent kind of malady, while others are more specific, like morning sickness during pregnancy or a brief flash of sickness when your plane hits a patch of turbulence.
Definitions of sickness
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impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism
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synonyms:
illness, malady, unwellness
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types:
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condition
an illness, disease, or other medical problem
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ague
a fit of shivering or shaking
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amyloidosis
a disorder characterized by deposit of amyloid in organs or tissues; often secondary to chronic rheumatoid arthritis or tuberculosis or multiple myeloma
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anuresis, anuria
inability to urinate
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catastrophic illness
severe illness requiring prolonged hospitalization or recovery; usually involves high costs for hospitals and doctors and medicines
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collapse, prostration
an abrupt failure of function or complete physical exhaustion
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aeroembolism, air embolism, bends, caisson disease, decompression sickness, gas embolism
pain resulting from rapid change in pressure
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food poisoning, gastrointestinal disorder
illness caused by poisonous or contaminated food
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lead poisoning, plumbism, saturnism
toxic condition produced by the absorption of excessive lead into the system
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disease
an impairment of health or a condition of abnormal functioning
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hypermotility
excessive movement; especially excessive motility of the gastrointestinal tract
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indisposition
a slight illness
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ozone sickness
illness that can occur to persons exposed to ozone in high-altitude aircraft; characterized by sleepiness and headache and chest pains and itchiness
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toxaemia, toxaemia of pregnancy, toxemia, toxemia of pregnancy
an abnormal condition of pregnancy characterized by hypertension and edema and protein in the urine
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growth
(pathology) an abnormal proliferation of tissue (as in a tumor)
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excrescence
(pathology) an abnormal outgrowth or enlargement of some part of the body
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breakdown, crack-up
a mental or physical breakdown
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shock
(pathology) bodily collapse or near collapse caused by inadequate oxygen delivery to the cells; characterized by reduced cardiac output and rapid heartbeat and circulatory insufficiency and pallor
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botulism
food poisoning from ingesting botulin; not infectious; affects the CNS; can be fatal if not treated promptly
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mushroom poisoning
toxic condition caused by eating certain species of mushrooms (especially Amanita species)
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ptomaine, ptomaine poisoning
a term for food poisoning that is no longer in scientific use; food poisoning was once thought to be caused by ingesting ptomaines
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salmonellosis
a kind of food poisoning caused by eating foods contaminated with Salmonella typhimurium
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disease of the neuromuscular junction
a disease characterized by impairment of neuromuscular junctions
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aspergillosis
disease especially in agricultural workers caused by inhalation of Aspergillus spores causing lumps in skin and ears and respiratory organs
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anthrax
a disease of humans that is not communicable; caused by infection with Bacillus anthracis followed by septicemia
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blackwater
any of several human or animal diseases characterized by dark urine resulting from rapid breakdown of red blood cells
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cat scratch disease
a disease thought to be transmitted to humans by a scratch from a cat
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complication
any disease or disorder that occurs during the course of (or because of) another disease
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crud
an ill-defined bodily ailment
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endemic, endemic disease
a disease that is constantly present to a greater or lesser degree in people of a certain class or in people living in a particular location
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enteropathy
a disease of the intestinal tract
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incompetence
inability of a part or organ to function properly
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Kawasaki disease, mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome
an acute disease of young children characterized by a rash and swollen lymph nodes and fever; of unknown cause
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pycnosis, pyknosis
a degenerative state of the cell nucleus
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Indian tick fever, Kenya fever, Marseilles fever, boutonneuse fever
a disease (common in India and around the Mediterranean area) caused by a rickettsia that is transmitted to humans by a reddish brown tick (ixodid) that lives on dogs and other mammals
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Meniere's disease
a disease of the inner ear characterized by episodes of dizziness and tinnitus and progressive hearing loss (usually unilateral)
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milk sickness
caused by consuming milk from cattle suffering from trembles
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mimesis
any disease that shows symptoms characteristic of another disease
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industrial disease, occupational disease
disease or disability resulting from conditions of employment (usually from long exposure to a noxious substance or from continuous repetition of certain acts)
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onychosis
any disease or disorder of the nails
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rheumatism
any painful disorder of the joints or muscles or connective tissues
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periarteritis nodosa, polyarteritis nodosa
a progressive disease of connective tissue that is characterized by nodules along arteries; nodules may block the artery and result in inadequate circulation to the particular area
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periodontal disease, periodontitis
a disease that attacks the gum and bone and around the teeth
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liver disease
a disease affecting the liver
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communicable disease
a disease that can be communicated from one person to another
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exanthema subitum, pseudorubella, roseola infantilis, roseola infantum
a viral disease of infants and young children; characterized by abrupt high fever and mild sore throat; a few days later there is a faint pinkish rash that lasts for a few hours to a few days
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respiratory disease, respiratory disorder, respiratory illness
a disease affecting the respiratory system
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congenital disease, genetic abnormality, genetic defect, genetic disease, genetic disorder, hereditary condition, hereditary disease, inherited disease, inherited disorder
a disease or disorder that is inherited genetically
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inflammatory disease
a disease characterized by inflammation
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autoimmune disease, autoimmune disorder
any of a large group of diseases characterized by abnormal functioning of the immune system that causes your immune system to produce antibodies against your own tissues
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eclampsia
a toxic condition characterized by convulsions and possibly coma during or immediately after pregnancy
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pre-eclampsia, preeclampsia
abnormal state of pregnancy characterized by hypertension and fluid retention and albuminuria; can lead to eclampsia if untreated
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deficiency disease
any disease caused by a lack of an essential nutrient (as a vitamin or mineral)
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cystic breast disease, cystic mastitis, fibrocystic breast disease, fibrocystic disease of the breast
the presence of one or more cysts in a breast
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goiter, goitre, struma, thyromegaly
abnormally enlarged thyroid gland; can result from underproduction or overproduction of hormone or from a deficiency of iodine in the diet
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heat hyperpyrexia, heatstroke
collapse caused by exposure to excessive heat
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algidity
prostration characterized by cold and clammy skin and low blood pressure
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pappataci fever, phlebotomus, sandfly fever
a mild viral disease transmitted by the bite of the sand fly Phlebotomus papatasii
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disease of the skin, skin disease, skin disorder
a disease affecting the skin
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exostosis
a benign outgrowth from a bone (usually covered with cartilage)
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polyp, polypus
a small vascular growth on the surface of a mucous membrane
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peduncle
the thin process of tissue that attaches a polyp to the body
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neoplasm, tumor, tumour
an abnormal new mass of tissue that serves no purpose
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malignance, malignancy
(medicine) a malignant state; progressive and resistant to treatment and tending to cause death
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hamartoma
a focal growth that resembles a neoplasm but results from faulty development in an organ
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eye disease
any disease of the eye
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animal disease
a disease that typically does not affect human beings
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plant disease
a disease that affects plants
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ozaena, ozena
a chronic disease of the nose characterized by a foul-smelling nasal discharge and atrophy of nasal structures
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filariasis
a disease caused by nematodes in the blood or tissues of the body causing blockage of lymphatic vessels
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type of:
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health problem, ill health, unhealthiness
a state in which you are unable to function normally and without pain
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the state that precedes vomiting
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synonyms:
nausea
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types:
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kinetosis, motion sickness
the state of being dizzy or nauseated because of the motions that occur while traveling in or on a moving vehicle
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morning sickness
nausea early in the day; a characteristic symptom in the early months of pregnancy
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qualm, queasiness, squeamishness
a mild state of nausea
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air sickness, airsickness
motion sickness experienced while traveling by air (especially during turbulence)
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car sickness
motion sickness experienced while traveling in a car
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mal de mer, naupathia, seasickness
motion sickness experienced while traveling on water
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type of:
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symptom
(medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease
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defectiveness or unsoundness“a great sickness of his judgment”
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type of:
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defectiveness, faultiness
the state of being defective
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defectiveness, faultiness
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘sickness'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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