nauseate
Meaning
to cause someone to feel sick and as if they are going to vomit
to cause someone to feel disgust or strong revulsion
Structure
Usage
the smell of the rotten food began to nauseate him.
the graphic violence in the film was enough to nauseate some viewers.
the rough boat ride on the choppy water started to nauseate several passengers.
Etymology
the word 'nauseate' originates from the latin 'nausea', which described the specific sickness induced by the motion of a ship at sea. this latin term was borrowed from the greek 'nausia', a direct derivative of 'naus', the greek word for 'ship'. the english verb was formed by appending the latin-derived suffix '-ate', which conveys the sense of causing or performing an action. thus, the literal meaning of causing seasickness broadened semantically to encompass the general act of inducing feelings of sickness or intense disgust.
Analysis
nause (from latin 'nausea', meaning 'seasickness, nausea', itself from greek 'nausia', meaning 'seasickness', from 'naus' meaning 'ship'); ate (a verb-forming suffix of latin origin, indicating to make, cause, or act upon).