ill

noun

1

a

: misfortune, distress

did not wish ill on anyone

b(1)

: ailment, sickness

had a cure for every ill

(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

Synonyms of ill

• disease
• illness
• ailment
• fever
• sickness
• condition

Examples of ill in a Sentence

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

Many Barcelona residents feel the Sagrada Familia's fame has driven some of overtourism's worst ills. —ABC News, 9 June 2026

Charli isn’t pretending the world’s ills are curable through a sweaty night dancing with friends. —Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 2 June 2026

Giant could have taken the same approach to Dahl as Dahl took to his own characters, clearly telegraphing the author’s ills and reducing him to them. —Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026

Blaming the Cubs’ ills on off-the-field issues is entertaining and keeps some sportswriters employed well past their expiration date. —Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

chickenpox and other ills of childhood