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ill¹ Definition

ill (il)

adjective worse, worst

  1. characterized by, causing, or tending to cause harm or evil; specif.,
    1. morally bad or wrong; evil ill repute
    2. causing pain, hardship, etc.; adverse ill fortune
    3. not kind or friendly; harsh; cruel ill will
    4. promising trouble; unfavorable; unfortunate; unpropitious an ill omen
  2. not healthy, normal, or well; having a disease; sick; indisposed
  3. not according to rule, custom, desirability, etc.; faulty; imperfect ill breeding

Etymology: ME < ON illr (replacing OE yfel, evil, in many senses): prob. < Gmc *ilhila < IE base *elk-, hungry, bad > OIr elc, bad

noun

anything causing harm, trouble, wrong, pain, unhappiness, etc.; specif.,

  1. an evil or misfortune
  2. a disease

adverb worse, worst

  1. in an ill manner; specif.,
    1. badly; wrongly; improperly; imperfectly ill-gotten gains
    2. harshly; cruelly; unkindly ill-spoken
  2. with difficulty; scarcely they can ill afford to refuse

ill¹ Idioms

go ill with

to be unfortunate for or unfavorable to

ill at ease

uneasy; uncomfortable

take ill

to be annoyed or offended at

ill² Definition

ill

  1. illustrated
  2. illustration
  3. illustrator

Ill Definition

Ill

Illinois

ill Synonyms

ill

modif.

  1. Bad

    evil, harmful, injurious, noxious, hostile, unkind, unfavorable, unpropitious, unfortunate, adverse; see also wicked 1.

  2. Sick

    unwell, unhealthy, ailing; see sick. See syn. study at sick, wicked.

go ill with

be unfortunate for, be unfavorable to, hurt; see disturb 2.

take ill
  1. become sick, become unwell, fall ill;

  2. take offense, resent, be annoyed at, be offended by;

ill Synonyms

ill

n.

  1. Anything causing pain, distress, etc.

    harm, misfortune, mischief, trouble; see evil 2, insult, wrong 1, 2.

  2. Sickness

    ailment, malady, affliction; see disease.

ill Usage Examples

Converse of object

cure: It was not however the final goal, which was to cure economic ills.

Preposition: at

ease: Vigils Cath & Suzanne in the Brewing Room - really ill at ease.

Adjective modifier

societal: His poems are based on societal ills and personal affectations at any given point in time.

Modifies a noun

  • health: Ill health or anxiety can also put a cat off its food.
  • omen: His fellow bandsmen sought to talk him out of this choice, seeing it as an ill omen, but Edwin was resolute.
  • patient: Research suggests children can cope with seeing ill patients in ICU.
  • retirement: This does not include membership based on transfer values from other schemes but does include extra membership given on ill health retirement.
  • effect: ILL EFFECTS of hair cutting, head getting wet, walking in wind.
  • will: There has been an extraordinary hike in prices over recent years, and the arrogance of these vendors has created much ill will.

Modifying Another Word

  • terminally: Empire suggests a scene in Patch Adams where terminally ill children turn up at court to save the day for Williams ' comedy doctor.
  • mentally: They play a key role in the delivery of the spectrum of care needed by mentally ill people.
  • seriously: Despite being seriously ill, his parents are only allowed on the ICU for a short period of time each day.
  • critically: The guidelines are not intended for the transport of the critically ill child.
  • chronically: Further evidence to Psychiatrists that the person is chronically ill.

Used with adjective complement

  • bode: It all bodes ill for United's survival prospects, and has sparked a fresh spate of slating on the club's fans forum.
  • fall: A few weeks later, Nathan fell seriously ill.
  • become: The consequences of becoming ill in remote areas are more serious than at home.
  • feel: Feeling rather ill, been getting worse over the last couple of days, think it's a virus of some sort - erk.

Preposition: of

mankind: Watch out for dutiful epidemiologists proving that it causes every known ill of mankind, as do tobacco and alcohol.

Preposition: with

fever: At the time Prince Albert was ill with typhoid fever and died a few days later.

Browse dictionary entries near ill

  1. ilk
  2. ilium
  3. -ility
  4. ilio-
  5. Iliamna
  6. Iliad
  7. iliac
  8. ILGWU
  9. ILF
  10. ilex
  1. ill-advised
  2. ill at ease
  3. ill-being
  4. ill-boding
  5. ill-bred
  6. ill-conceived
  7. ill-considered
  8. ill-defined
  9. ill-disposed
  10. ill-equipped