Nauseous and nauseated have two different definitions, but recently they have become almost interchangeable. To many people, the following two sentences have exactly the same meaning:
Example 1: I feel nauseated when I am nervous.
Example 2: I feel nauseous when I am nervous.
In both sentences, the speaker is referring to a feeling of queasiness. It is becoming increasingly common to hear the second example above, which uses nauseous in place of nauseated. Actually, these words have two separate meanings. Nauseous is used when referring to something that actually causes a feeling of sickness, while nauseated is used to refer to the actual sensation of sickness, as illustrated in the following sentences:
Example 3 (nauseous-correct usage): The smell of rotten eggs is nauseous.
Example 4 (nauseated-correct usage): The smell of rotten eggs makes me nauseated.
Example 3 illustrates the correct usage of the word nauseous, because it refers to the smell of rotten eggs–something which causes a feeling of sickness. In Example 4, nauseated is used to refer to the feeling of nausea. Just remember that when you are feeling sick, use nauseated, but when you are referring to something that actually causes you to be sick, use nauseous.
Please note that the word nauseating is synonymous with nauseous in that both refer to something that causes nausea. To say, “The smell of rotten eggs is nauseating” would be as correct as saying, “The smell of rotten eggs is nauseous.” The real confusion, however, lies in the difference between nauseous and nauseated.
indielibrarian:
Your OED seems to be different from mine. Mine has definition 1: Inclined to nausea, and the first reference is 1604, not 1885. Indeed, it is the original meaning of the word.
This meaning was in use for 300 years before anyone objected to it. If you look through Google Books, you’ll find it frequently used in medical texts.
It is never an error.
Really, now, what are we debating? In speech, be Descriptive. If everyone understands, is that not the objective? Language is, if nothing else, organic. In writing, however, I draw the line. It’s taken me years of study to write proficiently. I’ve earned the right to be snobbish and exacting about proper usage and grammar (did I use the preposition correctly?). So even if you don’t speak no good English, doesn’t mean you have to write like you don’t speak it well.
@indielibrarian I find the Oxford Dixtionary of English useful at times, however, I have found some mistakes there too. I have the audio iPad version and it only gives one acceptable version of “short-lived”, the version which has been so misused that it is now considered correct!
The best argument for using nauseated is that that usage of nauseous is not as well-accepted outside the United States.
I’m so glad you commented on these two words. I SELDOM hear them used correctly.
Nice going!
The OED has the following definition for “nauseous:” Of a person: affected with nausea; having an unsettled stomach; (fig.) disgusted, affected with distaste or loathing.
The first usage of “nauseous” in this way is recorded as 1885, so it is NOT a new usage. It is perfectly acceptable, therefore, to say, “I feel nauseous.”
True. I suppose my biggest problem is how just weird it sounds to say, “I feel nauseated. And also how weird it sounds to say, “The smell of rotten eggs is nauseous.” For each of those respectively I prefer nauseous and then nauseating. Also the link I posted seems to have an additional usage note which seems to line up with what you’ve said.
Usage Note : Traditional critics have insisted that nauseous is properly used only to mean “causing nausea” and that it is incorrect to use it to mean “affected with nausea,” as in Roller coasters make me nauseous. In this example, nauseated is preferred by 72 percent of the Usage Panel. Curiously, though, 88 percent of the Panelists prefer using nauseating in the sentence The children looked a little green from too many candy apples and nauseating (not nauseous ) rides. Since there is a lot of evidence to show that nauseous is widely used to mean “feeling sick,” it appears that people use nauseous mainly in the sense in which it is considered incorrect. In its “correct” sense it is being supplanted by nauseating.
Darken: Thanks for your comments. The nauseous/nauseated debate is one in which common usage seems to trump correctness. (Think of lie/lay and who/whom. How many people do you know who use these correctly or even understand the differences? Before long, the incorrect versions will be considered correct.) In my copy of The American Heritage Book of English Usage, 72 percent of the consulting panel (consisting of professionals in writing and speaking professions), preferred nauseated in a sentence such as “Roller coasters make me nauseous.” However, nauseous does seem to be winning out overall. Perhaps I should rewrite this entry to reflect the changing views of nauseous usage.
So “The smell of rotten eggs makes me nauseous.” would work as well. Sorry for all the comments. I tend to to get a lot of afterthoughts. Oh, and sorry if I sound rude. I’m not trying to be.
Check the usage note. Yeah, this was exactly how I was using it and it turns out that I wasn’t using it incorrectly after all.
Thank you for these articles. They have been of some help to me. But this one didn’t feel quite right so I checked the definition. It turns out that ‘nauseous’ can be used in the following way:, “I feel nauseous.”. Here is my reference:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nauseous?o=102213