Ask most people to use “nauseous†in a sentence and you’ll get something like: “This word-based list is making me nauseous.†Nearly all of us use it as a synonym of “sickened.†Strictly speaking, we’re wrong to do so.
“Nauseous†means “having the ability to cause nausea in others.†An article may be nauseous, but it’s making you nauseated. Smug grammar articles delight in pointing this out. It’s a word so rarely used correctly that 90 percent of your audience is bound to be wrong.
Unfortunately for pedants, it’s not so simple. When “nauseated†first entered the English dictionary in the 17th century, it meant what we would now say nauseous should mean. The meaning of nauseous itself contorted, too, from “inclined to sickness†in 1613 to “disgusted, affected with distaste or loathing†in 1885.
This is important because it shows a term constantly changing to keep up with usage. Currently, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary lists nauseous as having two definitions: to cause nausea or to be affected with nausea. The American Heritage Dictionary says it’s slowly coming to supplant “nauseated.†In short, it’s a word currently in flux, with two distinct meanings depending on whom you’re talking to (and how much of a pedant they are). --
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Topic: Nauseous vs. Nauseated (Read 1811 times)