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nausea

noun

nau·seaˈnȯ-zē-ə How to pronounce nausea (audio)

-sē-ə

ˈnȯ-zhə

-shə

Synonyms ofnausea next

:a stomach distress with distaste for food and an urge to vomit

experiencednausea during the cruise to Bermuda

:extreme disgust

looked at the murder scene with growingnausea

nauseant

ˈnȯ-zhē-ənt How to pronounce nausea (audio)

-shē-

-zē-

-sē-

noun or adjective

Frequently Asked Questions

Is one nauseous or nauseated?

Some usage guides have held that there should be a strict distinction betweennauseous andnauseated, with the first word meaning "causing nausea or disgust" and the second one meaning "affected with nausea." However,nauseous has been in widespread enough use for both of these senses that this distinction is now quite blurred.Nauseous may mean either "causing nausea" or "affected with nausea";nauseated, on the other hand, is restricted in meaning to "affected with nausea; feeling disgust."

What is the verb fornauseous?

The verb form ofnauseous isnauseate, meaning "to affect with nausea or disgust." It comes from the Latin word meaning "seasickness, nausea," which itself may be traced back to the Greek word for "sailor" (nautēs).

Isnausea a noun?

Nausea is a noun, meaning "a stomach distress with distaste for food and an urge to vomit" or "extreme disgust." A number of other nouns are closely related in meaning, includingnauseant ("something that causes nausea"),nauseousness ("an instance of nausea"), andnauseatingness ("the quality or state of being nauseating").

Synonyms

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples ofnausea in a Sentence

Some people experiencenausea when flying. A feeling ofnausea suddenly came over me.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage.Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.Send us feedback.

Possible side effects includenausea, malnutrition, vomiting, infection, or acid reflux.—

Stephanie Brown,Verywell Health, 28 Mar. 2025During class, be sure to look out for warning signs that your body is struggling to handle the heat, such as dizziness,nausea, confusion, rapid heartbeat or fatigue, Wolf said.—

Julianna Bragg,CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2025However, the side effects of these medications – dizziness, weight gain,nausea, and depression – cause many women to stop taking them.—

New Atlas, 25 Mar. 2025Its main side effects were diarrhea, which affected 16% of patients in the clinical trial, andnausea, which affected 9% of participants.—

Brenda Goodman,CNN, 25 Mar. 2025See All Example Sentences fornausea

Word History

Etymology

Latin, seasickness, nausea, from Greeknautia, nausia, fromnautēs sailor — more atnautical

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined atsense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use ofnausea was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century

Phrases Containingnausea

anti-nausea

Browse Nearby Words

Nauruz

nausea

nauseate

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Nausea.”Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nausea. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.

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Kids Definition

nausea

noun

nau·seaˈnȯ-zē-ə How to pronounce nausea (audio)

-sē-ə

ˈnȯ-zhə

-shə

:a disturbed condition of the stomach in which one feels like vomiting

:extreme disgust

Etymology

from Latinnausea "seasickness, the stomach upset that causes an urge to vomit," from Greeknausia, nautia (same meaning), literally "ship sickness," fromnaus "ship" — related toastronaut,nautical,noise seeWord History atnoise

Word Origin

The ancient Greeks were a seagoing people, so seasickness was not rare for them. Their word for seasickness,nausia ornautia, came from their word for ship,naus. Butnautia ornausia also meant the worst symptom of seasickness, the stomach upset and urge to vomit.Nausea, as we call this feeling in English, can be caused by something other than the motion of a ship. The ancient Greeks and the ancient Romans, who spoke Latin, needed only one word for both seasickness and the upset in the stomach. The Romans borrowed the Greek word, spelling itnausea in Latin. English took the word directly from Latin.