Nauseous vs Nauseated: Which One Do You Need?
Traditionally, nauseated is how you feel and nauseous is what causes it. In practice nauseous now means both.
I feel nauseated. A nauseous smell.
The test that settles it
If you want to be beyond criticism, use nauseated for the feeling. If you want to sound like everyone else, nauseous is fine.
“the smell was ___” → it causes the feeling, so nauseous in either system.
“I feel ___” → the feeling, so nauseated is the traditional choice.
Nauseated: experiencing nausea
The feeling itself. Nobody objects to this word in this sense, which is what makes it useful.
She felt nauseated after the journey.
The smell left him nauseated.
Patients report feeling nauseated.
Is a person feeling ill? Then nauseated is always safe.
Nauseous: causing nausea, or feeling it
The older sense is the cause — a nauseous odour. The newer sense, feeling sick, is now the dominant one in speech and appears in every major dictionary.
A nauseous stench from the drain.
I felt nauseous all morning.
The nauseous smell of burnt oil.
Either sense will be understood; only the first is beyond dispute.
Side by side
| Nauseous | Nauseated |
|---|---|
| Causes it (traditionally) | Feels it |
| Now used for both | Only the feeling |
| Disputed in the feeling sense | Never disputed |
| A nauseous smell | I feel nauseated |
The exceptions
The prescription that nauseous means only the cause is now a minority position, and dictionaries record the feeling sense without comment.
It is worth knowing because some readers still hold it, and because nauseated costs nothing. But writing I feel nauseous is not an error.
Nauseating unambiguously means causing disgust, and it has no competing sense at all: a nauseating display.
Where people get it wrong
| Incorrect | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The nauseated smell filled the room. | The nauseating smell filled the room. | The cause. |
| She was nauseous of the sight. | She was nauseated by the sight. | The feeling takes by. |
| nauseus | nauseous | The o before -us. |
| I feel nauseating. | I feel nauseated. | Nauseating describes what you do to others. |
Practice — choose the right word, then check yourself.
- The patient reported feeling ___.
- A ___ stench rose from the bins.
- He was ___ by the motion of the boat.
- The display was frankly ___.
- She has felt ___ since breakfast.
Show the answers
1. nauseated 2. nauseating 3. nauseated 4. nauseating 5. nauseated
Frequently asked
So is I feel nauseous wrong?
No. It is standard in every major dictionary. Nauseated simply avoids the argument entirely.
What is the noun?
Nausea — the feeling, from the Greek for seasickness.
More words people confuse
