nauseous

/ˈnɔːziəs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈnɔːʃəs/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈnȯ-shəs ˈnȯ-zē-əs/ (ame, mw)

nauseous — adjective

  • nauseouspositive
  • more nauseouscomparative
  • most nauseoussuperlative

1. having the uncomfortable feeling in your stomach that you are about to throw up,

1.形容詞C1
釋義

having the uncomfortable feeling in your stomach that you are about to throw up, often because of illness, motion, smell, or strong emotion.

例句

Arjun felt nauseous after eating the leftover seafood at the picnic.

predicative: feel + nauseous after a trigger

The smell of diesel on the ferry made Yael nauseous within minutes.

collocation: smell makes someone nauseous

同義詞
  • queasy

    milder; suggests an unsettled stomach short of vomiting

  • sick

    more general; in British English often means 'about to vomit'

  • ill

    broader; covers any unwellness, not specifically stomach

文法句型

be/feel + nauseous

用法筆記

Predicative only: pairs with linking verbs like 'feel', 'be', 'become', 'grow'. Distinguish from sense 2: here the subject is the person who feels sick, not the thing causing it.

常見錯誤

❌I have a nauseous stomach.
✅I feel nauseous.
💡use a linking verb; nauseous is rarely placed before a noun in this sense.
❌The food was nauseous after one hour.
✅The food made me nauseous after one hour.
💡when describing the cause, see sense 2 or rephrase with 'make'.

2. describing a smell, sight, or substance so unpleasant that it makes people want

2.形容詞C1
釋義

describing a smell, sight, or substance so unpleasant that it makes people want to throw up; in modern use also figuratively, of a moral or aesthetic disgust.

例句

A nauseous odour rose from the drain that Zola had not cleaned for weeks.

attributive: a nauseous + smell/odour

The chemistry lab gave off a nauseous fume that emptied the corridor.

attributive: nauseous + fume/gas

同義詞
  • nauseating

    more common in everyday English for the same 'cause' meaning

  • sickening

    stronger; often emotional or moral disgust as well as physical

  • revolting

    intensely unpleasant; broader than just stomach reactions

反義詞
  • appetising

    of food or smell, making you want to eat

  • pleasant

    general opposite for a mild, agreeable quality

文法句型

a nauseous + noun

be + nauseous

用法筆記

Frequently attributive (before a noun): a nauseous smell, fume, colour, or scene. The 'cause' sense is older and more formal; many speakers now prefer 'nauseating'. Distinguish from sense 1, where the subject is the person feeling ill.

常見錯誤

❌After the boat trip, I was a nauseous person.
✅After the boat trip, I felt nauseous.
💡for the person who feels sick, use sense 1 with a linking verb.
❌Her perfume was very nauseous, so I left.
✅Her perfume was nauseating, so I left.
💡in conversational English, prefer 'nauseating' for the cause.