ill

1 of 5

adjective

ˈil 

worse ˈwərs  ; worst ˈwərst 

1

a comparative also iller; superlative also illest

(1)

: not in good health

also : nauseated

(2)

: not normal or sound

ill health

b

: causing suffering or distress

ill weather

2

: unfriendly, hostile

ill feeling

3

a

: not suited to circumstances or not to one's advantage : unlucky

an ill omen

b

: involving difficulty : hard

4

a

: attributing evil or an objectionable quality

held an ill opinion of his neighbors

b

: resulting from, accompanied by, or indicative of an evil or malevolent intention

ill deeds

c

chiefly Scotland : immoral, vicious

5

a

: not meeting an accepted standard

ill manners

b

archaic : notably unskillful or inefficient

ill

2 of 5

adverb

worse; worst

1

a

: in a faulty, inefficient, insufficient, or unpleasant manner

—often used in combination

the methods used may be ill-adapted to the aims in view

—R. M. Hutchins

b

: in an unfortunate manner : badly, unluckily

ill fares the land … where wealth accumulates, and men decay

—Oliver Goldsmith

2

: hardly, scarcely

can ill afford such extravagances

3

a

: so as to reflect unfavorably

spoke ill of the neighbors

b

: with displeasure or hostility

c

: in a harsh manner

4

: in a reprehensible manner

ill

3 of 5

noun

1

a

: misfortune, distress

b(1)

: ailment, sickness

(2)

: something that disturbs or afflicts : trouble

economic and social ills

2

: something that reflects unfavorably

spoke no ill of him

3

: the reverse of good : evil

ill

4 of 5

abbreviation (1)

illustrated; illustration; illustrator

Ill

5 of 5

abbreviation (2)

Illinois

Synonyms

Adjective

• nauseated
• nauseous
• qualmish
• queasy
• queazy
• queer
• queerish
• sick
• sickish
• squeamish

Adverb

• brutally
• hard
• hardly
• harshly
• oppressively
• roughly
• severely
• sternly
• stiffly

Noun

• affection
• ail
• ailment
• bug
• complaint
• complication
• condition
• disease
• disorder
• distemper
• distemperature
• fever
• illness
• infirmity
• malady
• sickness
• trouble

Examples of ill in a Sentence

Adjective

That dog can eat almost anything with no ill effects.

They had been subjected to months of ill treatment.

Adverb

He is being ill served by his advisers.

Please don't think ill of me.

He was a good man who never spoke ill of anyone.

Noun

chicken pox and the other ills that were once a fixture of childhood

idealistic people who try to cure all of our society's ills

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

When Arakawa became ill, there was no backup system—no one to step in for her or her husband. —Joseph Coughlin, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025

Woolard took care of Roscoe and her older sister when their dad was caring for their critically ill mother in the hospital. —Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2025

Adverb

There have been reports of dolphins and seabirds falling ill as well, and this event could be worse than the bloom that occurred in 2023, which killed 1,000 sea lions, according to the marine conservation group. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2025

Co-leader Chris Difford has apparently taken ill, although the less Squeeze-attentive parts of the audience may not have noticed, since primary lead singer Glenn Tilbrook is holding down the fort quite effectively. —Chris Willman, Variety, 7 Mar. 2025

Noun

The economic ills felt by consumers will be purely in service of ensuring the most profitable companies in the world are never held to account. —Andrew Leahey, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025

The symbolic surprise of the week came from Comme des Garçons Homme Plus, where the designer Rei Kawakubo startled the audience if only because this was really the sole show that seemed, through its clothes, to acknowledge the broader ills of the world. —Jacob Gallagher, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Old Norse illr

First Known Use

Adjective

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4c

Adverb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3b

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing ill

• bad/ill feelings
• bode ill
• for good and for ill
• house of ill repute
• ill-advised
• ill afford
• ill-assorted
• ill at ease
• ill-begotten
• ill-being
• ill-boding
• ill-bred
• ill-conceived
• ill-considered
• ill-defined
• ill-disposed
• ill effects
• ill-equipped
• ill-fated
• ill-favored
• ill feeling/feelings
• ill-gotten
• ill-humored
• ill-informed
• ill-judged
• ill-mannered
• ill-natured
• ill repute
• ill-sorted
• ill-starred
• ill-suited
• ill-tempered
• ill-timed
• ill-treat
• ill-usage
• ill-use
• ill will
• ill-wisher
• physically ill
• terminally ill
• violently ill
• with bad/ill grace
• woman of ill repute

Rhymes for ill

• bill
• brill
• chill
• drill
• fil
• fill
• frill
• gill
• grill
• grille
• jill
• kill

Kids Definition

ill

1 of 3 adjective

ˈil 

worse ˈwərs  ; worst ˈwərst 

1

: meant to do harm or evil

ill deeds

2

a

: causing suffering or distress

ill weather

b

: not normal or sound

ill health

c

: not being in good health

had been ill for some years

d

: affected by nausea

3

: not helpful to one : unlucky

an ill omen

4

: not right or proper

ill manners

5

: not kind or friendly

ill feeling

never said an ill word

ill

2 of 3 adverb

worse; worst

1

a

: with displeasure or anger

the remark was ill received

b

: in a harsh manner

treated me ill

2

: in a way that deserves blame

an ill-spent youth

ill-gotten gains

3

: hardly sense 3, scarcely

can ill afford it

4

: in a faulty way : badly, poorly

ill-prepared to face the winter

ill

3 of 3 noun

1

: the opposite of good : evil

2

a

: sickness sense 2

childhood ills

b

: trouble entry 2 sense 1a

the ills of society

Medical Definition

ill

1 of 2 adjective

ˈil 

worse ˈwərs  also iller ˈil-ər  ; worst ˈwərst 

1

: affected with some ailment : not in good health

incurably ill with cancer

—Time

mentally ill

2

: affected with nausea often to the point of vomiting

thought she would be ill after the ride on the roller coaster

ill

2 of 2 noun

: ailment, sickness

chicken pox and other ills of childhood

Geographical Definition

Ill

geographical name

ˈēl 

river 129 miles (208 kilometers) long in northeastern France flowing into the Rhine River