Origin: Germanic Old English suffix
Radiation sickness has 2 different meanings across 1 category:
syndrome resulting from exposure to ionizing radiation (e.g., exposure to radioactive chemicals or to nuclear explosions); low doses cause diarrhea and nausea and vomiting and sometimes loss of hair; greater exposure can cause sterility and cataracts and some forms of cancer and other diseases; severe exposure can cause death within hours
"he was suffering from radiation"
Any illness produced by ionizing radiation with symptoms ranging from nausea through to death.