Sickness: English Vocabulary List

feeling unwell or slightly ill

"He is under the weather today."

"I felt a bit under the weather yesterday so I stayed at home all day long."

to lose one's appetite due to being physically or mentally ill

"The dog is off his food."

"The stressed student was off his food and barely touched his dinner."

used to say that one's feet are in pain

"My dogs are barking today."

"After walking ten miles, my dogs are barking and I need to sit down and rest."

(of a person) feeling or looking nauseated, pale, or sickly

"After the boat ride, he looked green around the gills."

"After the bumpy flight the passenger looked green around the gills and asked for a sick bag."

difficulty in speaking, particularly due to one's throat being dry

"I have a frog in my throat and cannot speak clearly."

"I woke up with a frog in my throat this morning so my voice sounds very strange and croaky."

extremely unwell or tired

"I look like death warmed over."

"After staying up all night studying for the exam I felt like death warmed over this morning."

to vomit intensively

"He puked his guts out last night."

"After eating that spoiled seafood at the restaurant, she went home and puked her guts out for several hours."

to empty what is in one's stomach through one's mouth

"I tossed my cookies."

"The rough seas caused many passengers to toss their cookies over the side of the ship."

to vomit or feel sick, particularly when someone is leaning over a toilet bowl

"He was riding the porcelain bus all night."

"He drank too much at the party and spent the next morning driving the porcelain bus regretting every single drink."

to vomit a lot and in length

"He is talking to Ralph on the big white phone."

"After too many drinks he spent an hour talking to Ralph on the big white phone in the bathroom."

a person who is very thin, often in an unhealthy way

"The dog became a bag of bones."

"After weeks of not eating, the stray cat was nothing but a bag of bones."

very thin, often in an unattractive and unhealthy way

"He looks thin as a yard of pump water."

"The prolonged famine left the villagers looking thin as a yard of pump water."

used to refer to someone who is extremely thin, often in an unhealthy way

"She is thin as a rake."

"After his illness, he became as thin as a rake and needed to gain weight."

used to refer to someone who is extremely thin, often in an unattractive and unhealthy way

"The stray dog was all skin and bone."

"After being lost in the forest for two weeks the poor dog was nothing but skin and bone."

to share with someone all one's feelings, most private thoughts, and secrets

"She spilled her guts to her best friend."

"The suspect finally spilled his guts to the police and confessed everything about the crime he committed."

covered with bruise marks on one's skin as a result of having had an accident or been hit by someone or something

"My arm is black and blue."

"His arm was black and blue after he fell down the stairs but luckily nothing was broken."

used when someone is about to undergo a medical operation

"He went under the knife."

"My father is going under the knife tomorrow for a hip replacement surgery at the local hospital."

used to refer to someone who is extremely ill or unwell

"He was sick as a dog."

"My brother felt as sick as a dog after eating too much spicy food at the restaurant."

very weak or lacking in strength

"The baby cat is weak as a kitten."

"After the surgery, he felt weak as a kitten and needed assistance to walk."

to vomit in a very extensive way

"He spilled his guts out."

"The traumatic experience caused him to spill his guts out uncontrollably for several minutes."