Nauseous vs. Nauseated

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Lori, and I’m calling from Lodi, Wisconsin.

Well, hi, Lori. How are you doing today?

I’m well, thanks. How are you?

Super duper. Welcome to the program.

Doing well. Finer and Frogs here.

And what can we do you for?

Well, I am a veterinarian, and I was having a conversation with another veterinary friend of mine.

It was probably like a year ago now.

And nausea came up, and I said something about being nauseous.

And she said, hey, you know, funny thing.

I have found out she grew up in Wisconsin where I did, and she was in Florida at the time.

And she said, I found out that nauseous means contagious.

So what you’re saying is you have nausea that’s contagious.

What you mean is that you’re nauseated.

And I’d never heard the distinction.

And now since we had the conversation, I see nauseous everywhere.

Oh, my.

Yes.

You see nauseous used in what sense?

In the sense that I am nauseated.

Like, are you feeling nauseous?

I’ve seen it on TV programs like House.

I see it in novels.

I almost never see nauseated.

So I didn’t know if it was a Midwest thing, but then when I saw it on TV, I thought, probably not.

And I just wonder if she’s right.

Yeah, you’re right, Lori.

It’s all over.

And this is an example of being able to feel language shifting right underneath our feet.

And I don’t know, maybe that’s nausea-inducing.

But yeah, the fact is that traditionally, the traditional rule, the rule that sticklers love, is that nauseous, and you pronounce it nauseous, not nauseous, as you did.

Nauseous means nausea-inducing.

And nauseated means feeling nausea, right?

Right.

The problem here is that fewer and fewer people know this rule.

In fact, more people now say nauseous for feeling nauseated than the other way around, than the traditional rule.

So the meaning of nauseous is clearly in the process of change.

And, you know, I feel that some grammatical rules are really, really helpful, and I’m very attached to them.

But trying to enforce this rule is sort of the equivalent of being in your neighborhood coffee shop and drinking your coffee with your pinky finger extended.

You know, I just it’s a little precious.

And when I’m talking to clients, I try and be appropriate and I try and say nauseated and I feel like I’m being pretentious.

Right, right. You do this little dance around it. Right.

And they probably say, I think little Fifi’s feeling nauseous.

And she probably is. I mean, if somebody tells me they’re feeling nauseous, I’m definitely going to step out of the way.

You know, I mean, the meaning is clear enough, don’t you think?

Yes. Yeah. And I just I haven’t really seen anyone use nauseated since I’ve become aware of it.

Yeah, that’s not surprising.

In British data, nauseous, meaning affected with nausea, occurs about 65% of the time.

And in American data, 85% of the time.

Yeah, yeah.

So it’s definitely changing.

So very few people are saying nauseated that way.

So I’m not being overly naughty if I go back to using nauseous.

No.

Ooh.

Ooh.

Are we going to get in trouble with the grammar police?

They’ve got no guns.

It doesn’t matter.

They’ve just got little hats.

Well, I’m sure some of them do.

Little hat, little badge.

I think you’re perfectly fine going with the mainstream on this.

Nauseous.

Nauseous, yeah, it’s totally fine.

You’re ahead of the curve.

Nauseous to mean feeling nauseated.

Yeah.

Go ahead, Lori, and use it, all right?

Okay.

Okay.

I just wanted to check with you guys.

Well, if your friends have a problem with it, you just send them to us, okay?

I will.

All right.

That’s right.

Well, be on your way and vomit freely.

Bye-bye.

Thanks.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Okay.

If you have a question about language, call us 1-877-929-9673.

Or send an email to words@waywordradio.org.