[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/sickly/)

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# sickly

adjective (sickly, sicklier, sickliest)

«sickly» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Often ill, weak or not healthy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#m1)
2. Looking pale or unhealthy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#m2)
3. (of taste or smell) Too sweet in a way that makes you feel a bit sick. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#m3)
4. (of colour or light) Pale and unpleasant, like a sickly yellow. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#m4)
5. (of feelings) Too sweet or sentimental. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#m5)

### In the lessons

In stories a sickly child or plant is weak and often ill, especially in history before modern medicine. In everyday life «sickly sweet» describes sweets, perfume or a cake with too much icing. In art and descriptions «a sickly green» is an ugly pale colour.

### Examples

- She was a sickly baby but grew into a strong girl. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#x1)
- The plant looked sickly because it had no sunlight. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#x2)
- The cake was sickly sweet with so much icing. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#x3)
- The room smelled of sickly perfume. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#x4)
- The walls were painted a sickly yellow. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#x5)
- He looked pale and sickly after the flu. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#x6)
- The film had a sickly happy ending. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#x7)
- Well; I will be the nurse of this poor, sickly boy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/#x8)

### Note

Adjective, though it ends in -ly (not an adverb). Comparative «sicklier», superlative «sickliest». Do not mix up with «sickle», a curved blade for cutting crops.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «sickly» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sickly/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«sickly» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sickly.html) on Mova free.