sicken

verb

Etymology: From Middle English sekenen, equivalent to sick + -en. Cognate with Danish sygne (“to pine”), Swedish sjukna (“to fall ill; become sick”), Norwegian sykne, Icelandic sjúkna (“to sicken; become sick”).

1. To make ill.

   “The infection will sicken him until amputation is needed.”

2. To become ill.

   “I will sicken if I don’t get some more exercise.”

   “The judges that sat upon the jail, and numbers of those that attended,[…] sickened upon it and died.”

3. To fill with disgust or abhorrence.

   “His arrogant behaviour sickens me.”

   “In announcing the review, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new health secretary, said in a statement that “antisemitism — like racism — is a spiritual and moral malady that sickens societies and kills people with lethalities comparable to history’s most deadly plagues.””

4. To lower the standing of.

   “Whenever I get booed by opposition fans it only makes me more determined to sicken them.”

   “But instead of giving up, the Rangers team managed to grab a dramatic later winner from Kenny Miller to sicken St Mirren and lift the cup”

5. To be filled with disgust or abhorrence.

   “Mine eyes did sicken at the sight.”

6. To become disgusting or tedious.

   “The toiling pleasure sickens into pain.”

7. To become weak; to decay; to languish.

   “All pleasures sicken, and all glories sink.”