noun
nausea
NAW-zee-uh/ˈnɔːziə/
The sick feeling that one may vomit.
He leans over the basin as a wave of nausea hits.
Etymology
The Latin ancestor meant 'seasickness,' connecting the stomach's distress with illness aboard ship. In English, however, nausea seems never to have been restricted to sickness at sea.
In context
nausea involves only malaise and discomfort located especially in the upper portion of the stomach.
More examples
- Reading in a moving car sometimes gives me nausea.
- The medicine relieves her nausea within an hour.
- She wakes up with nausea but never actually vomits.
Forms
nauseate verb — To make someone feel likely to vomit.
nauseous adjective — Feeling sick and likely to vomit.
Similar words
- queasiness
- Usually suggests mild nausea rather than an intense episode.
- sickness
- Broader term that can mean illness, not just nausea.