Nauseous vs. nauseated.

What is the difference, if any?

Do you observe the distinction in your own speech?

I use the former exclusively in conversation. If someone nauseated me, I would say, "you made/make me nauseous". Still, I would say, "That roller coaster is nauseating".

The usage note at A-H explains best the persciptivist stance on nauseating and nauseous. I try to use disgusting for nauseous, with noisome and Italian schifo filling in for those twee moments. (Noise and nausea are related.)

Thanks, Zmj, for that interesting link...and I always love hearing what those usage panelists have to say! I thought it funny that people mainly use nauseous in the sense in which it is incorrect, and then they replace it with nauseating when the usage panelists think nauseous should be used!

I never thought that nauseous and nauseating were that controversial!

I almost never use nauseous, I have to admit. Those poor usage panelists!

There was a episode of The Flintstones where Fred and Barney pooled their funds to buy a boat, but then couldn't agree on what to name it. One wanted to call it (her?) Nautical Lady, but the other insisted on Queen of the Sea. So as a compromise they squashed the two names together, and named the boat Nau-sea.

Is'nt this a tense thing? Nauseous present tense and Nauseated past tense. Nauseating would be the object causing nausea? I know my wife uses nauseated alot but english is not her first language so the fact that it often sounds strange or awkward to me is not something I have commented on. I wll have to ask her why she uses it the way she does. Her english was learned in a different context to mine and she can correct my english sometimes.

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Is'nt this a tense thing?

I don't think so. Nauseous and nauseated are both adjectives. Nauseating and nauseated are present and past participles respectively. It may be a voice thing. What's the difference between:

1. Wheat is selling for US$30 a bushel.

2. Wheat is being sold for US$30 a bushel.

They're both passive. Though the first form is the original in English, the second has become more popular. The first only happens with a small subset of verbs.

3. A house is building.

4. A house is being built.

For me, the third sentence sounds anomalous.

The 3rd isn't anomalous, it is just confusing, because one wonders if the house is building itself a new garage or some such. In this kind of context, the noun preceding the "is Xing" is typically the agent, except for the obvious cases like being.

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I know my wife uses nauseated alot but english is not her first language

Well, my first language is English, and, as I said, I used 'nauseated' most often. Perhaps it is a regional usage?

I checked with Christiane and she says that her usage is based on nauseous being related to smell. I asked if she was getting confused with Noxious but she said not. The plasticity of language use is what makes it fascinating.

How does Ad Nauseum fit in..

For me ad nauseam means that something is being pushed to the point of nausea...or to the point of making me sick!

"We've discussed the antiterrorism limerick ad nauseam!"

Noise and nausea are related.

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Originally posted by zmjezhd:
Noise and nausea are related.

Nautical and nausea ought to be. I get seasick.