sickly
adjective
sick·ly
| \ ˈsi-klē
\
\
Definition of sickly
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: somewhat unwell
also
: habitually ailing
2
: produced by or associated with sickness
a sickly complexion a sickly appetite
3
: producing or tending to produce disease : unwholesome
a sickly climate
4a
: appearing as if sick
b
: lacking in vigor : weak
a sickly plant
5
: sickening
a sickly odor
sickly
verb
sicklied;
sicklying
Definition of sickly (Entry 2 of 2)
: to make sick or sickly
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Examples of sickly in a Sentence
Adjective
The walls were painted a sickly yellow. The lamp gave off a sickly glow.Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Officials at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Eastham, Mass., have taken two sickly, juvenile bald eagles under their wing. — Fox News, "Massachusetts wildlife center rescues 2 bald eagles showing signs of starvation, other health issues," 23 July 2019 But Givner’s father was sickly at the time, and his family decided to move to a warmer, drier climate. — Keith Sharon, The Mercury News, "The man who stayed late: The Watergate story you’ve never heard," 17 June 2019 Compared side by side, the old Oasis now looks washed out, with a sickly grey backdrop for the text at lower brightnesses and a corpse-like white at higher ones. — Chaim Gartenberg, The Verge, "Amazon Kindle Oasis 2019 review: getting warmer," 24 July 2019 The couple disregard the advice, and the woman gives birth to a sickly infant. — Audrey Farley, The Atlantic, "Steel Magnolias Is a Beloved Weepy With a Dark Side," 15 July 2019 Puma are once again the manufacturers having taken over from Nike over the off-season, producing a design that graduates from bright pink at the bottom of the jersey to a sickly yellow at the top. — SI.com, "Manchester City Kit 2019/20: Fans Repulsed as Citizens Release Fluorescent Third Strip," 15 July 2019 Palm frond print can be neon or pastel or black and white, and the palm fronds do not have to be the actual color of palm trees, which in the case of Los Angeles right now is mostly a sickly yellow. — Kaitlyn Tiffany, Vox, "How palm frond print went from the French Riviera to Target," 12 July 2019 While skies do often turn green during a tornado, there's no real correlation between the tornado itself and the sickly hue. — Kiona Smith-strickland, Popular Mechanics, "The Truth Behind 7 Common Tornado Myths," 9 July 2019 Who would have thought the 2019 team, with the third-fewest runs in the majors and so many sickly batting statistics, would fall three runs short of matching the feat? — Henry Schulman, SFChronicle.com, "Giants power their way to fourth straight win, first three-game sweep of 2019," 4 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sickly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for sickly
sickly
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of sickly
: often affected by a disease or illness : not healthy and strong
: caused by or relating to sickness
: causing a person to feel sick
See the full definition for sickly in the English Language Learners Dictionary
sickly
adjective
sick·ly
| \ ˈsik-lē
\
\
sicklier;
sickliest
Kids Definition of sickly
1
: somewhat sick : often ailing
I was sickly as a child.
2
: caused by or associated with ill health
a sickly complexion
3
: sickening
a sickly odor
4
: appearing as if sick
The sickly plants withered away.
sickly
adjective
sick·ly
| \ ˈsik-lē
\
\
Medical Definition of sickly
1
: somewhat unwell
also
: habitually ailing
a sickly child
2
: produced by or associated with sickness
a sickly complexion
3
: producing or tending to produce disease
a sickly climate
4
: tending to produce nausea
a sickly odor