The Rule: Teachers, dictionaries, and word usage guides used to say that nauseous should be used only to mean "causing nausea" or "making one's stomach feel sick" and not be used to mean "feeling sick to one's stomach."
The say if your meaning is "feeling sick to one's stomach," the word nauseated should be used. So:
• nauseous = causing one to feel sick to one's stomach.
→ the nauseous smell of rotting garbage
• nauseated = feeling sick to one's stomach.
→ The man felt nauseated.
In recent decades, however, nauseous has been widely used for both meanings.
• nauseous = (1) causing one to feel sick to one's stomach. (2) feeling sick to one's stomach.
→ The nauseous smell made me feel nauseous/nauseated.
Today, both Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary say it is OK to use nauseous for both meanings.
The American Heritage Dictionary has a Usage Panel, a group of writers, speakers, and others who vote on word usage rules. In 1965, 88 percent of its Usage Panel said nauseous should not be used to mean "feeling sick." By 2013, that number had dropped to 23 percent.
To quote the American Heritage Dictionary: "… what was once considered an error is now standard practice. Nauseous is now far more common than nauseated in describing the sick feeling."
Advice: For work or school, if you have a manager or English teacher who is picky about word usage, follow the traditional rule. If not, nauseous might be your best choice.
Related:
• nausea = (n.) a sick feeling in one's stomach.
• nauseate = (v.) to make one feel sick to one's stomach.
• nauseating = (adj.) making one feel sick to one's stomach.
• nauseated = (adj.) feeling sick to one's stomach.
• nauseous = (adj.) (1) making one to feel sick to one's stomach. (2) feeling sick to one's stomach.
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