sicken
/ˈsɪkən/verb
sicken is spelled S-I-C-K-E-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 66,686th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, sicken means “To make ill” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sicken?
| Letters | 6: S-I-C-K-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 66,686th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sicken?
Sicken appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 66,686th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sicken?
- /ˈsɪkən/
Sicken has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sicken.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sicken
- sickens present, singular, he/she/it
- sickening participle, present
- sickened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sicken mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 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.
- 3
To fill with disgust or abhorrence.
His arrogant behaviour sickens me.
- 4
To lower the standing of.
- 5
To be filled with disgust or abhorrence.
- 6
To become disgusting or tedious.
- 7
To become weak; to decay; to languish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sicken in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to make ill:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rendre malade |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sicken come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).