ill

1 of 5

adjective

worse ˈwərs How to pronounce ill (audio) ; worst ˈwərst How to pronounce ill (audio)
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 viewR. M. Hutchins
b
: in an unfortunate manner : badly, unluckily
ill fares the land … where wealth accumulates, and men decayOliver 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
b(1)
(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

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
Left back Jordi Alba was out ill and missing from the starting lineup. Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024 The death of Queen Elizabeth II, and both King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales getting ill soon after, plus the fact that the public haven’t seen Kate since Christmas Day, have all contributed to the speculation. Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024 During the Great Depression, her father became ill and left 13-year-old Hidalgo to financially support the family. Stephanie Lam, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024 Eating the meat from a deer that is visibly ill with EHD is not recommended. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 29 Feb. 2024 That year, his grandmother, Grace Beason, became ill. Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 29 Feb. 2024 On Wednesday, the longtime WellChild patron joined the call for nominations in a new video shared to X. The U.K. charity works to support seriously ill children and their families, and the annual awards celebrate the inspirational qualities of the young people and those who care for them. Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024 Grace Jun, one of the lawyers representing the Settles family, said the department was specifically warned in that report that severely ill psychiatric patients in administrative segregation were likely to attempt suicide. Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2024 Never a hardy person, McCullers suffered from increasing ill health during the early forties, contracting strep throat, an ear infection, double pneumonia, pleurisy, and a tooth infection that required daily trips to the dentist. Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
Adverb
The brother of Stefanie Smith — the 41-year-old woman who suddenly died after falling ill on an American Airlines flight from the Dominican Republic last week — shares how the family is still uncertain about what caused her death. Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024 The team’s security specialist was the first to fall ill. Bishop Sand, Washington Post, 17 Feb. 2024 The man who fell ill in Men’s Central Jail was initially incarcerated on April 27. Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024 The other Broward County cases also involve children who fell ill with measles this month. Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2024 Putin's critics have a tendency of falling ill or dying after criticizing Putin. Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2024 In one episode, the baby fell dangerously ill after drinking contaminated water. Anastacia Galouchka, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2024 Around 30 people and four staffers fell ill last week at O Lot, near Balboa Park, prompting an inquiry by the environmental health and quality department. Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2024 When the Tailor of Gloucester falls ill and is unable to finish making a waistcoat for the mayor’s wedding, a team of mice sew a cherry-red garment. Jess Bidgood, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2024
Noun
For all of California’s ills and hardships, nothing animated the state’s left-leaning electorate in this year’s Senate race more than the specter of former President Trump returning to the White House. Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 California voters have long been misled by dishonest descriptions of general tax measures that are sold as a panacea to all manner of ills. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2024 The draw of this idea is its simplicity: Proposing that the body’s many ills can be collapsed into a single mega-ailment makes treatment seem refreshingly uncomplicated compared with the medical interventions needed to address individual problems. Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2024 The task that Navalny set himself, of opposing and exposing the ills of Putin’s regime is now left to Russia’s disparate, disunited, and partially dismantled opposition, with a new figurehead: Navalny’s widow Yulia. Clare Sebastian, CNN, 20 Feb. 2024 Throughout his life, he was dedicated to the church and to others — donating to charities, helping to finance the original St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan and risking his life during epidemics to tend to the ill. Elizabeth Stone, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024 At the very least, Flip is aiming to respond to the ills of today’s online shopping landscape: fake reviews, discrepancies between product photos and what arrives on your doorstep, and influencers endorsing mediocre products with unwarranted enthusiasm. Carly Olson, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2023 New Orleans has struggled in the red zone all season and Hill appears to be the cure for those ills. Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Oct. 2023 And burdening the rest of us with all the related ills. Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ill.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of ill was in the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near ill

Cite this Entry

“Ill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ill. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ill

1 of 3 adjective
worse ˈwərs How to pronounce ill (audio) ; worst ˈwərst How to pronounce ill (audio)
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
worse ˈwərs How to pronounce ill (audio) also iller ˈil-ər How to pronounce ill (audio) ; worst ˈwərst How to pronounce ill (audio)
1
: affected with some ailment : not in good health
incurably ill with cancerTime
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

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

More from Merriam-Webster on ill

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