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Prepositions after adjectives

Prepositions after sick

Different prepositions after sick create different meanings. Sick of and sick with are the most common combinations.

Quick answer

How is sick used with prepositions?

Use sick of for annoyance or boredom and sick with for illness or strong emotion. Sick for is uncommon but can mean longing for something. In and to are usually not fixed combinations after sick.

I'm sick of these delays.
She is sick with the flu.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
sick of + noun or activity

Feeling annoyed or tired of something

This is a very common informal pattern.

They are sick of waiting.
2
sick with + illness

Describing illness

With introduces a disease or condition.

He was sick with food poisoning.
3
sick with + emotion

Expressing strong emotion

With can also introduce emotional states.

She felt sick with worry.
4
sick for + something

Wanting something strongly

This pattern is uncommon and literary.

He was sick for home.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
sick of
I'm sick of excuses.
Annoyed or tired of something.
sick with
She is sick with a cold.
Ill or overwhelmed by emotion.
sick for
He grew sick for adventure.
Strong desire; uncommon.
sick to
She felt sick to her stomach.
To belongs to the phrase to her stomach, not a fixed pattern after sick.
sick in
He is sick in bed.
In bed is a place expression, not a selected preposition after sick.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using of for illnesses

Use with when naming a disease.

✕ She is sick of the flu. ✓ She is sick with the flu.

Using sick to for annoyance

Use sick of for frustration or boredom.

✕ I'm sick to this noise. ✓ I'm sick of this noise.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. We are sick ___ hearing the same complaint.
2. He was sick ___ pneumonia for weeks.
3. She felt sick ___ worry.

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Frequently asked questions

Is sick of informal?

Yes. It is very common in everyday English.

Can sick with describe emotions?

Yes. You can say sick with fear, worry, or grief.

Is sick for common today?

It exists but sounds literary or old-fashioned in many contexts.

sacred-to-in-by-of, for "sad for" or "sad about"? "safe for", "safe from" or "safe in"? sanguine about, in, of, on or for? "satisfactory to" or "satisfactory for"? satisfied with, of, by, in or on? "satisfying for" or "satisfying to"? scarce in, for, at, on or of? scared of, to, about, for or by? "scary for" or "scary to"? "scathing about", "scathing in" or "scathing of"? "sceptical about" or "sceptical of"?

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