sic
/ˈsɪk/
verbadverb
Familiar
1.v.urge to attack someone
“The owner sicked his dogs on the intruders”
2.adv.intentionally so written (used after a printed word or phrase)
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sic and sick are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. sic means “urge to attack someone”. sick means “affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function”. sick is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈsɪk/
1.v.urge to attack someone
“The owner sicked his dogs on the intruders”
2.adv.intentionally so written (used after a printed word or phrase)
/ˈsɪk/
| sic | sick | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈsɪk/ | /ˈsɪk/ |
| Said | sik | sik |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 3 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | verb, adverb | adjective, noun, verb |
| Senses | 2 | 9 |
| How common | Familiar | Core |
| Synonyms | set | ill |
1.adj.affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
“ill from the monotony of his suffering”
2.adj.feeling nausea; feeling about to vomit
3.adj.affected with madness or insanity
“a man who had gone mad”