1
2
as in harmful
causing or capable of causing harm
one of the ill effects of winter weather is the rapid spread of germs as people spend more time together indoors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in poorly
temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body
since I'm ill, I guess that I'll just have to miss that dental appointment
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4
as in poor
falling short of a standard
such ill behavior will not be tolerated
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5
as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
the abrupt breakdown of negotiations appears to be an ill omen for this ongoing hostage situation
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1
as in severely
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering
in those days society treated debtors very ill, even going so far as to put them in prison
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2
as in no
certainly not
you can ill afford to miss another day of work
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1
as in disease
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning
chicken pox and the other ills that were once a fixture of childhood
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2
as in evil
that which is morally unacceptable
idealistic people who try to cure all of our society's ills
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3
as in misfortune
bad luck or an example of this
the travelers merrily set off on their journey, scarcely imagining the ills that would befall them
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of ill
Leanna Renee Hieber, Big Think, 2 Oct. 2025
Both ultimately met the ill fate of print media.
—Rodney Carmichael, NPR, 1 Oct. 2025
Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
The country would also be exceptionally ill-equipped to respond to the next pandemic.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2025
Sam Blum, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
In their assessments, desegregation and the passage of time have cured all of America’s racial ills.
—Time, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ill
Adjective
The legend of the Dash expanded from mere omen and ill weather, taking on greater importance as an usher of souls; coming to collect descendants of the lost crew and fold them into the fog of the great unknown.
—Leanna Renee Hieber, Big Think, 2 Oct. 2025
Both ultimately met the ill fate of print media.
—Rodney Carmichael, NPR, 1 Oct. 2025
Adverb
Modernity is ill suited to the natural peregrinations of streams and rivers.
—Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
The country would also be exceptionally ill-equipped to respond to the next pandemic.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2025
Noun
Speaking ill of Mike Trout’s flawless game was impossible.
—Sam Blum, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
In their assessments, desegregation and the passage of time have cured all of America’s racial ills.
—Time, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ill
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill
Adjective
-
Without a promise of pay, many air traffic controllers have called in sick or just not shown up for work.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Egg prices fell a bit, fewer sick poultry flocks were culled on farms and officials took a breath.—
Christian Orozco,
NBC news,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
While traditional failures to moderate third-party posts are usually protected, design choices, like building chatbots that produce harmful content, could expose companies to liability.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
8 Oct. 2025
-
That means millions of young people remain vulnerable to a practice the nation’s leading experts have long rejected as both harmful and scientifically baseless.—
Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez,
Time,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This involves having a poorly or non-functioning colon and is not usually reversible.—
Dr. John De Jong,
Boston Herald,
17 Aug. 2025
-
The researchers and their partners are also working to track local residents’ health and to measure how well or poorly interventions like masks and household air filters protected them.—
Maggie Astor,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
My adolescent cells floated away from poor me and traded places with his.—
Betty Gilpin,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Women disproportionately suffer chronic disease, on average spend 25% more time in poor health than men, and, on average, experience the final 12 to 14 years of their lives in frail health.—
Maria Shriver,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The squeals, heavy breathing, and tail thrashing of the headline attraction, the ominous pitter-patter of a chestburster scuttling across the floor, and the characteristic crunch of a chestburster smashing through an unfortunate ribcage are all integral to the extra-terrestrial horror.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Then again, silence can sometimes be more ominous than shouting — as Dennis Allen, Joe Philbin and others can attest.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
On July 14, a jury of 10 women and two men found Serafini guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder for the shooting that killed his father-in-law Gary Spohr, 70, and severely wounded his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood, 68, at their home near Lake Tahoe.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Hamas' top leadership has been assassinated, its fighting capacity severely curbed in Gaza.—
Emily Feng,
NPR,
7 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Look no further than chocolate cosmos, a tuberous perennial with velvety blooms and a decadent fragrance.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Look no further than the wagers presented on the daily high temperatures of cities across the country.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The approach could open safer treatment possibilities for bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, and viral brain infections.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Oct. 2025
-
For each ticket sold, $1 will be donated to the CMT Research Foundation, which funds research to help aid in finding a cure for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
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