1
as in frail
chronically or repeatedly suffering from poor health
a sickly foal that seemed to catch everything that the other horses had
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in poisonous
bad for the well-being of the body
lungs scarred by years of exposure to the sickly air of the coal mines
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sickly
Scenes centered on corporate stooges or government administrators are cast in bland browns and sickly yellows, while moments based in nature or the afterlife are bursting with bright blues, pinks, and greens.
—
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2025
The water was a blur of teal fringed with rusty shadows, darkening, about twenty feet below, to a sickly emerald.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Larry Shapiro, Calgary, Alberta Hamas has no conscience Seeing the sickly, gaunt faces of the three Israeli hostages released by Hamas in Gaza on Feb. 8 presented a clear picture of the loathing and deep hostility their abductors felt for them.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2025
Seek the Sun Lack of adequate light is the chief reason houseplants take on a sickly appearance.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sickly
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2025
The water was a blur of teal fringed with rusty shadows, darkening, about twenty feet below, to a sickly emerald.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Larry Shapiro, Calgary, Alberta Hamas has no conscience Seeing the sickly, gaunt faces of the three Israeli hostages released by Hamas in Gaza on Feb. 8 presented a clear picture of the loathing and deep hostility their abductors felt for them.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2025
Seek the Sun Lack of adequate light is the chief reason houseplants take on a sickly appearance.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sickly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sickly
Adjective
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His rapping has a frail, slithering quality; his vocal tone morphs between cute squeakiness and ragged rottweiler growls.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
21 Mar. 2025
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In our grandparents’ day, families weren’t dispersed across the country, and family members often took care of their frail relatives.—
Steve Vernon,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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However, its seeds, flowers, and leaves are very poisonous.—
Clarence Schmidt,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Mar. 2025
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While shooting the scene, the snake handlers identified which snakes by color were poisonous and told Goggins not to touch them.—
Lexi Carson,
The Hollywood Reporter,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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What unfolds is a two-person dialogue on the subject of fragile masculinity.—
Doreen St. Félix,
The New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2025
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Efficiency at what cost? Read: The rise of techno-authoritarianism Careless People illustrates how this ideological vacuum is filled by its leaders’ fleeting whims and governed by their fragile egos.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In 2022, Moms Across America released a study analyzing the amount of toxic chemicals found in school lunches, and the Health Research Institute conducted the research.—
USA TODAY,
USA TODAY,
18 Mar. 2025
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It’s forced me to reexamine my relationship with injectables, which, despite being somewhat casual, had the potential to snowball into something toxic.—
Nicola Dall'Asen,
Allure,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Nearly 95 people got sick during a norovirus outbreak on a Holland America Line ship, the cruise line’s fourth this year.—
Nathan Diller,
USA TODAY,
18 Mar. 2025
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Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock alum Tracy Morgan caused a temporary delay at Monday night's NBA game between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat after the actor and comedian got sick in his courtside seat during the second half, and later sharing an update on his condition from a hospital bed.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The unhealthful effects of autocracy remain robust even when accounting for economic differences and when excluding Venezuela and its collapsing health-care system.—
Thomas J. Bollyky,
Foreign Affairs,
30 Jan. 2020
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However, communities in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains were still experiencing unhealthful air quality, according to the air district.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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Murena Pixel Tablet And Third-Party Apps The ecosystem for Android tablets is weaker than that of Android smartphones.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
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Cleanup crews noted the tree’s root system was very weak.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This included industrialization, and, with it, the conception of leisure as a way of allowing people to recuperate from work with a temporary escape from the ugly, unhealthy atmosphere of the city.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
23 Mar. 2025
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While this is great for Chalamet, Soderbergh isn’t sure whether this has set an unhealthy expectation in the industry that young talent have to bring star power with them to a project instead of the project helping these actors rise in stature.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
22 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sickly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sickly. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
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