Close in meaning

Nauseous vs. Nauseated

Nauseated means feeling sick to your stomach. Nauseous traditionally meant causing nausea, but today most people use it to mean feeling sick, and dictionaries accept that. In formal writing, I feel nauseated is the safest choice.

Word	Part of speech	Meaning
nauseous	adjective	feeling sick to your stomach; this is now the most common use
nauseous	adjective	causing a sick feeling; disgusting (the older, traditional sense)
nauseated	adjective	feeling sick to your stomach, as if you might throw up

Nauseous

adjective: feeling sick to your stomach; this is now the most common use

The winding mountain road made Sam feel nauseous.
I get nauseous if I read in the back seat.

adjective: causing a sick feeling; disgusting (the older, traditional sense)

A nauseous smell came from the old fridge in the garage.
The fumes from the fresh paint were almost nauseous.

Nauseated

adjective: feeling sick to your stomach, as if you might throw up

Priya felt nauseated on the ferry ride across the bay.
The medicine left him tired and a little nauseated.

How to remember the difference

Nauseated ends in -ed, like affected: it says how you were affected. Old-style nauseous ends in -ous, like poisonous: it names the cause.

Good to know

Some editors and teachers still object to nauseous meaning feeling sick, but Merriam-Webster and most modern guides accept it as standard. For the causing-sickness sense, nauseating is now far more common than nauseous.

Spot the mistake

That boat ride left me ~~nauseating.~~ nauseated.
Correct: That boat ride left me nauseated.

Check yourself

Pick the word that fits each sentence.

1. The rough seas left half the passengers .

2. A odor drifted out of the drain, so we called a plumber.