sickly

Everyday

1. Often ill, weak or not healthy. tree →
2. Looking pale or unhealthy. tree →
3. (of taste or smell) Too sweet in a way that makes you feel a bit sick. tree →
4. (of colour or light) Pale and unpleasant, like a sickly yellow. tree →
5. (of feelings) Too sweet or sentimental. tree →

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 →
• The plant looked sickly because it had no sunlight. tree →
• The cake was sickly sweet with so much icing. tree →
• The room smelled of sickly perfume. tree →
• The walls were painted a sickly yellow. tree →
• He looked pale and sickly after the flu. tree →
• The film had a sickly happy ending. tree →
• Well; I will be the nurse of this poor, sickly boy. tree →

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.