sickly
/ˈsɪkli/adjective, verb, adverb
sickly is spelled S-I-C-K-L-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,820th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sickly means “Frequently ill or in poor health; weakly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sickly?
| Letters | 6: S-I-C-K-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,820th 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 sickly?
Sickly appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,820th 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 sickly?
- /ˈsɪkli/
Sickly 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-sickly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sickly
- sicklier comparative
- sickliest superlative
- sicklies present, singular, he/she/it
- sicklying participle, present
- sicklied participle, past
- more sickly comparative
- most sickly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sickly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Frequently ill or in poor health; weakly.
a sickly child
- 2
Not in good health; (somewhat) sick.
- 3
Characterized by poor or unhealthy growth. (of a plant)
- 4
Appearing ill, infirm or unhealthy; giving the appearance of illness.
a sickly pallor
- 5
Shedding a relatively small amount of light; (of light) not very bright.
- 6
Lacking intensity or vigour.
a sickly smile
- 7
Associated with poor moral or mental well-being.
- 8
Tending to produce nausea.
a sickly smell; sickly sentimentality
adverb
- 1
In a sick manner; in a way that reflects or causes sickness.
sickly pale; to cough sickly
verb
- 1
archaicTo make (something) sickly.
- 2
rareTo become sickly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sickly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | maladif, souffreteux, chétif, valétudinaire , douçâtre, douceâtre |
| German | kränklich, fehlbar, kränkelnd, siech, dahinsiechend , blass |
| Portuguese | enfermiço, doentio, valetudinário , débil |
| Spanish | enfermizo, enclenque, calamitoso, enteco, achacoso, valetudinario |
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 sickly come from?
From Middle English seekly, sekely, siklich, sekeliche, equivalent to sick + -ly. Possibly a modification of Old English sīcle (“sickly”) and/or derived from Old Norse sjúkligr (“sickly”). Cognate with Dutch ziekelijk, Middle High German siechlich, Danish sygelig, Swedish sjuklig, Icelandic sjúklegur. The verb is from the adjective.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).