Crossword Genius

The queasiness is bad: the sea I find rough (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

malaise

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'rough' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't see how one could define the other.

'the queasiness is bad the sea i' is the wordplay.
'the queasiness' becomes 'mal' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'is bad' indicates an anagram (I've seen 'being bad' mean this).
'sea'+'i'='seai'
'seai' with letters rearranged gives 'aise'.
'mal'+'aise'='MALAISE'

'find' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for malaise that I've seen before include "Uneasy feeling" , "Disquiet" , "depression" , "General feeling of unease or illness" , "Feeling of physical or mental illness" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app