1
as in disease
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning
suffered from a mysterious illness that left her weak and tired all the time
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sickness
the condition of not being in good health
prone to illness as a child, he was sent to a western ranch with the expectation that it would toughen him up
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illness
Chemotherapy is a common way of treating lymphoproliferative disorders, according to Cleveland Clinic, and Halsey has previously been open about undergoing the intravenous procedure for her illness.
—
Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 26 Sep. 2025
The same goes for anyone with chronic illnesses like diabetes or kidney disease.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
Animal shelters in Marion and Johnson counties have temporarily closed their cat rooms and halted intakes due to an illness outbreak among their feline populations.
—Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 25 Sep. 2025
More recently, books such as Lisa Olstein’s Pain Studies and Meghan O’Rourke’s The Invisible Kingdom have examined the uncertainty of chronic illness.
—Bekah Waalkes, The Atlantic, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illness
Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 26 Sep. 2025
The same goes for anyone with chronic illnesses like diabetes or kidney disease.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
Animal shelters in Marion and Johnson counties have temporarily closed their cat rooms and halted intakes due to an illness outbreak among their feline populations.
—Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 25 Sep. 2025
More recently, books such as Lisa Olstein’s Pain Studies and Meghan O’Rourke’s The Invisible Kingdom have examined the uncertainty of chronic illness.
—Bekah Waalkes, The Atlantic, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illness
Noun
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But warming ocean temperatures, rising sea levels, disease and human activity, such as pollution, have severely degraded Florida's reefs, according to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
1 Oct. 2025
-
In the series, Marie, an ambitious young woman of minor nobility, learns that her lung disease is terminal.—
Emiliano De Pablos,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The idea of green sickness comes out of Renaissance medicine, which in turn took a page from Hippocrates’s rediscovered book On the Disease of Virgins.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
27 Sep. 2025
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What does another entry into the canon of sickness writing have to offer readers?—
Bekah Waalkes,
The Atlantic,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Quarterback Brock Purdy and tight end George Kittle have missed their last two games due to toe and hamstring ailments, respectively.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
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Death certificates often attributed fatalities among older people to ailments like heart failure instead of falls, making fall mortality appear lower in the 1980s and 1990s.—
Paula Span,
Miami Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Orbán has long sought to consolidate his power through concocting scapegoats for Hungary’s ills.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
19 Sep. 2025
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Held at the Abrons Arts Center, a core program within the Henry Street Settlement, Bittar created his vision of a Nineties-era beauty pageant in a commentary reflecting current-day societal ills, primarily aimed at the LGBTQ community, notably trans women and women in general.—
Roxanne Robinson,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Baptiste also advises concerned parents visit their child’s pediatrician to discuss potential testing, but that Tylenol remains the best medical option to treat fevers and headache.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
26 Sep. 2025
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Ignoring fevers or pain can also pose serious health risks, Follmer added.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Illness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illness. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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