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Nauseous vs. Nauseated: What's the Difference?
Quick answer
- Traditionally, nauseous means causing nausea.
- Nauseated means feeling nausea.
The difference
By the traditional rule, a smell is nauseous and a person is nauseated. In everyday modern English, “I feel nauseous” is extremely common and accepted by major dictionaries, but nauseated is still the safer choice in formal or medical writing.
Nauseous
- Usually
- adjective
- Think
- sickening
- Meaning
- Causing nausea; also, in widespread modern use, feeling sick.
- Example
- A nauseous smell drifted from the drain.
Nauseated
- Usually
- adjective
- Think
- sick
- Meaning
- Feeling sick to the stomach.
- Example
- He was nauseated after the second lap.
When to use nauseous
Use nauseous for the thing that causes the feeling, or, in casual speech, for the feeling itself.
- The nauseous stench of old fat filled the kitchen.
- I felt nauseous the whole flight. (casual, widely accepted)
When to use nauseated
Use nauseated for the person experiencing the feeling, especially in formal writing.
- Patients reported feeling nauseated within an hour.
- She looked pale and nauseated.
Remember it
-ated happens to you. -ous is what does it.
This describes the traditional distinction. It is a preference in careful writing, not an error in everyday speech.
The difference in real life
How rigid is this?
Less rigid than people claim. Dictionaries record both senses of nauseous. Keep the distinction in clinical, academic or edited prose; relax it in conversation.
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Think you've got it?
In a clinical report, which describes the patient?
A truly _____ smell came from the bins.
Is “I feel nauseous” wrong in conversation?
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