What does nauseated mean?
Nauseated means experiencing nausea, the uncomfortable sensation of sickness or queasiness that can accompany illness, pregnancy, motion, anxiety, unpleasant food, or other physical causes. In ordinary use, it describes a person's condition rather than the substance responsible: a person may feel nauseated after a medication, become nauseated during a journey, or be nauseated by a strong smell. The word can also carry a figurative sense of intense disgust or loathing, especially when describing a reaction to cruel, unethical, or profoundly distasteful conduct. This distinction matters because nauseated normally identifies the person who feels sick, whereas nauseating or nauseous more often identifies what provokes the reaction. Nauseated is natural in both formal and informal English and is especially common in medical, travel, and everyday descriptions of physical discomfort.
adjectiveExperiencing nausea, or a feeling of sickness and queasiness. It can also mean feeling intense disgust or loathing.
- Experiencing nausea, queasiness, or a feeling of sickness.
- Feeling intense disgust or loathing.
"The rolling motion of the boat soon left her pale and nauseated."
"She became nauseated during the long drive over the winding mountain pass."
"The committee was nauseated by the proposal's callous disregard for the people affected."
The word began with the sea: nausea traces back to Greek naus, meaning “ship,” preserving an ancient maritime origin in the language of seasickness.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does nauseated come from?
Nausea comes from Latin nausea, borrowed from Greek nautia, meaning “seasickness,” which is related to naus, meaning “ship.” English borrowed the Latinate verb nauseate, and nauseated was formed from it as a past participle and adjective. The family words nausea, nauseous, and nauseating preserve the same inherited root.
How nauseated is actually used
The physical sense is the dominant modern use and is neutral in register. The figurative sense, meaning disgusted or filled with loathing, is somewhat more emphatic and literary; it should not imply an actual medical symptom.
Easily confused with nauseated
Nauseated describes a person experiencing nausea, whereas nauseous more commonly describes something that causes nausea or disgust, although people sometimes say they feel nauseous.
Nauseated means feeling sick or disgusted, while nauseating means causing that reaction in someone else.