sicken

/ˈsɪkən/

//ˈsɪkən// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sicken" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sicken” is uncommon English (frequency #67,047 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,047
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make ill.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sicken · sicken · English

sicken · rank #67,047 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,047
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Shum

Nearest frequency peer: Shum (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “sicken”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “sicken” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sicken
PropertyValue
Headwordsicken
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈsɪkən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#67,047
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sicken” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).sickenfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Shum” (#67,045), “simp” (#67,049), “sleeplessness” (#67,051). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sicken” is #67,047. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sicken is uncommon English at frequency #67,047 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈsɪkən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for sicken in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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”). The correct English form is sicken, spelled S-I-C-K-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make ill.
  2. 2
    To become ill.
  3. 3
    To fill with disgust or abhorrence.
  4. 4
    To lower the standing of.
  5. 5
    To be filled with disgust or abhorrence.
  6. 6
    To become disgusting or tedious.
  7. 7
    To become weak; to decay; to languish.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sicken appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The infection will sicken him until amputation is needed.
  2. I will sicken if I don’t get some more exercise.

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”).

This word in other languages

rendre malade(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sicken"?
"sicken" is spelled S-I-C-K-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪkən/.
What does "sicken" mean?
As a verb, "sicken" means: To make ill.
How do you pronounce "sicken"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sicken" is /ˈsɪkən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sicken"?
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”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sicken", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

souped#67,064Souris#67,065Schoen#67,025stumpy#67,080

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list